WHO IS ED KELCE?
Ed Kelce
The fact that Ed Kelce is the first father to have two kids compete in the Super Bowl is a source of great pride for him. His sons’ football careers were significantly influenced by him because he was a devotee of the sport and even had aspirations of playing it professionally. Individually, Ed was a sportsperson. His knee injury occurred during his senior year of high school when he was playing both baseball and football.
Immediately following his graduation from high school, he began playing rugby. Due to the fact that Ed came from a family with a significant military presence, he left college in order to join the military. Regrettably, his application to join the army was denied because of a knee ailment that he had already had. After receiving a diagnosis of Crohn’s illness, he became a member of the Coast Guard; nevertheless, his time in the service was similarly extremely brief. It is apparent that the no-nonsense father is quite proud of his sons, as evidenced by the podcast interview that his son gave, but he was not easy with them.
Ed Kelce was continually telling Travis that he could do better, even when he was having a fantastic game, according to Travis. The passion that Jason and Travis had for baseball, hockey, basketball, and football was cultivated by him as they were growing up. Ed was married to Donna. Ed and Donna disclosed that they had first met when Donna was on her way to another date. Ed would frequently stop by the Fagan’s bar in Old Cleveland Flats for a drink after work, and she decided to stop by there. The two had a conversation and were immediately connected.
On the occasion of both of their sons’ graduation from college, the couple decided to part ways after around 25 years of marriage. Donna had a positive outlook on her marriage to Ed, despite the fact that the Kelce family went through a difficult time as a result of the divorce.
Ed Kelce’s Early Years
Ed Kelce was the eldest of two younger children and was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. During an episode of his sons’ podcast titled New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, he revealed that he had a lot of fun in his hometown due to the fact that he grew up in a community that he referred to as a “blue-collar” neighborhood. Even though he had a knee injury, he was unable to continue playing football in high school, much like his sons. He was forced to give up the sport. Once Ed Kelce had completed his high school education, he went on to study at Ohio State University for almost a quarter and a half before returning home.
In spite of the fact that he went on to earn a few credits at two additional colleges, he quickly shifted his focus to the military, just as his family had done for many generations ahead of him. On their podcast, Ed shared with his sons that every member of his family served in the military prior to him. Additionally, they were referring to families who experienced World War II, and how it influenced their decision to join the military due to their familial heritage.
Sadly, Ed Kelce’s application to join the Army was denied because of the same knee ailment that also ruined his career as a football player. After that, he decided to join the Coast Guard, but his hopes and goals were denied to him once more. The news that Ed had Crohn’s disease came to him while he was in boot camp. He claimed that he had never experienced such a condition before, and he was sick. With some serious stomach troubles, he was able to complete most of the basic training. As Ed Kelce said, they did not require sick people to serve in the military; rather, they required those who were prepared to carry out their duties.
A Trajectory of Ed Kelce’s Professional Career
Ed Kelce experienced a prosperous career in the steel industry after being forced to make a second pivot in his life. Even more than that, he made it a routine to bring his sons to work with him on occasion so that they could get a firsthand look at himself doing his job. He’d take them there, equipped with a hard hat, safety glasses, boots, and everything else, and then he’d tell them that they could have a job similar to the one their mother had, or they could have a job similar to his.
Prior to her retirement in 2021, Donna Kelce, the mother of Travis and Jason Kelce, earned a Master of Business Administration degree and worked in the field of finance. Ed mentioned that because employment at the steel mill slowed down around the holidays, he obtained a seasonal job at a candy store in order to gain more money to assist in paying for the Christmas presents that he would be giving to his sons. Eddie responded to Travis’s question about why he did that by saying that he was obsessed with his two children.
Ed also disclosed that he is interested in writing which he has a passion for. A novel titled Somebody to Grow Up With was in the process of being written by him. It was mentioned by him that he would eventually have to get off his behind and complete it.
The Personal Life of Ed Kelce
When Ed Kelce and Donna went to the same bar on the same night, that was the beginning of their love affair. It turned out that Donna was actually on her way to another date when she made the decision to stop and get a drink while she was on her way. After a long day of labor at the steel mill, Ed Kelce made a pit stop at the bar that evening. He was still covered in filth from head to toe. In an episode of the podcast that his sons produce, Ed mentioned that they began talking, and she offered to drive him home with her. Unfortunately, Donna ultimately decided not to go on her initial date.
After taking a brief shower, Ed escorted her to another bar because he did not want the night to come to an end. After she entered his room, Ed instructed her to wait for him so that he could change. Later on, in the late 1970s, Donna and Ed did end up getting married. The couple welcomed their first child, Jason, around five years after their wedding. Two years later, they had their second son, Travis. After that, they moved to Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where they raised their sons until they were old enough to take them to the University of Cincinnati.
Following their individual collegiate football careers, Jason and Travis would both be selected by the National Football League in the years 2011 and 2013, respectively. It was in Cleveland that Donna Kelce spent her childhood. When Donna was 12 years old, her mother passed away, and her father moved on to marry a woman named Mary, whom she referred to as a stunningly gorgeous person. In addition to a Master of Business Administration degree from Baldwin Wallace University, she also possesses a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication from Ohio University. Her thirty years of experience in the field of finance, from which she retired in 2021, came before she became a full-time NFL soccer mom.
There were almost 25 years of marriage between Ed and Donna, but after both of their sons graduated from college, they decided to go their own ways and initiate the divorce process. Kelce, a documentary that was released in 2023, featured the former couple discussing their divorce.
As Ed Kelce elucidated in the documentary, had they chosen to separate as they likely would have desired, it would have posed significant challenges in terms of logistical arrangements, ensuring the children’s educational attainment, and providing the necessary support. In the final analysis, it can be asserted that the outcome was favorable as Donna and Ed successfully nurtured two highly accomplished NFL athletes, both of whom achieved a twofold appearance in the Super Bowl. Their rigorous work ethic was acquired from an external source.
Eddie is the paternal grandfather of Jason’s three daughters. Jason and Kylie are parents to three daughters, namely Wyatt Elizabeth, Elliotte Ray, and Bennett Llewellyn. Ed Kelce resides in the suburban area of Philadelphia, in close proximity to Jason, Kylie, and his grandchildren. During a recent episode of the podcast, Jason shared the story that at Wyatt’s birthday party, “Papa Kelce” assisted her in setting up the Polaroid camera that Travis had given her as a gift.