Football: Shelly’s debut an inspiration for Marple Newtown

MARPLE >> Nearly one year had passed since Michael Shelly was honored at Marple Newtown High’s Harry R. Harvey Field.

The Tigers were hosting Harriton in a Central League contest Friday, Sept. 12, 2014. At the time, the freshman Shelly wanted nothing more than to be in uniform, standing on the home sideline and supporting his teammates. Instead, Shelly was bound to a wheelchair. The hundreds of fans and students in attendance gave Shelly a raucous ovation 30 minutes before the game. Shelly, with his family by his side, raised his hand to acknowledge his adoring fans.
In August 2014, days before the start of his first high school training camp, Shelly received the diagnosis: non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Cancer.

Fast forward to Sept. 4, 2015, opening night of the football season. Marple Newtown at Cardinal O’Hara.
There was Shelly in uniform, ready for the chance to hit the field and lend a hand on offense, defense or special teams. Shelly had overcome the odds and put the stamp on his victory over this terrible disease.

Shelly dressed. And Shelly played.

With the Tigers on their way to a lopsided win, Shelly experienced one of the happiest moments of his life. He hustled onto the field in the fourth quarter and lined up on defense. The ball was snapped and Shelly, a sophomore defensive lineman, was officially a high school football player.

It was a ride he will never forget.

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