Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1988
- Class:
- 1956
A two-way back from Logan, W.Va., Len Hellyer’s Marshall football career was divided into two parts by military service during the Korean conflict. Hellyer played for Coach Pete Pedersen’s teams in 1951 and 1952, then, after leading the team with 498 rushing yards as a sophomore, spent two years in the U.S. Army. When Hellyer returned to Marshall after his service, Herb Royer was the team’s football coach and Hellyer became one of the most explosive playmakers in the Mid-American Conference. As a junior in 1955, Hellyer won first team All-MAC honors as he led the conference with 737 rushing yards and eight touchdowns – including a career-high 177 yards against Morris Harvey and a 90-yard run versus Bowling Green. Hellyer was also Marshall’s top receiver with another 252 yards and three scores on 10 receptions, including the first 100-yard receiving day in the Herd record books as he caught six passes for 106 yards and two scores in a 28-0 win at Western Michigan. He twice returned punts for 82-yard touchdowns, one against Miami and the other at Toledo. Hellyer was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the 1956 NFL Draft, but chose to return to Marshall for his senior season and to complete his degree. Among the highlights during his final year at Marshall, he stung Morris Harvey with an 83-yard punt return and a 51-yard rush for touchdowns in a 25-13 Marshall win and Western Michigan again with a 67-yard punt return for a touchdown in a 13-0 Herd victory.
All told, Hellyer scored 22 career touchdowns, seven of which covered more than 50 yards, and another 90-yard non-scoring rush. Hellyer was inducted into the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988.
