NFL legend Marv Levy to celebrate 100th birthday at Hall of Fame ceremony

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FILE - Buffalo Bills head coach Marv Levy on the sidelines during a game in the early 1990s. Levy, who led the team to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances, is celebrating his 100th birthday with a special event at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. (Getty Images. )

Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy is turning 100 years old and will be honored with a celebration at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, this weekend.

The event will coincide with the Hall’s annual induction festivities, where many other Hall of Famers and former colleagues will already be gathered. Levy said he is appreciative of the celebration and the support from former players, coaches, friends, and family who plan to attend.

"Well, I’d prefer to be turning 25, to tell you the truth," Levy told the Associated Press. "But no, I’m very appreciative. I’ve been very fortunate with all the people I’ve associated with, including my dear wife Frannie and my daughter Kimberly."

Levy acknowledged that for years he understated his age. When he was hired by the Buffalo Bills in 1986, he was 61 years old, but it wasn’t revealed until later that he had trimmed three years off his age out of concern that NFL teams wouldn’t hire him.

Hall of Fame celebration

Big picture view:

The Hall of Fame celebration for Levy will take place in Canton, Ohio, this Friday. Levy will make the trip from his hometown of Chicago in what he called "a special vehicle" for the six-hour drive. The event aligns with this year’s Hall of Fame induction festivities, which will include Antonio Gates, Jared Allen, Eric Allen, and Sterling Sharpe.

Former players, coaches, and executives are expected to attend, along with Mary Wilson, the wife of late Bills owner Ralph Wilson.

"How could you miss it? I love him so much," Wilson told the Associated Press. "What a gentleman. He’s so gracious and I admire him. I’m so happy he had this wonderful relationship with Ralph, and I’m just thrilled I can be there."

Levy’s coaching career

The backstory:

Levy began his coaching career in the early 1950s at Country Day School in St. Louis, Missouri, before moving on to college programs at New Mexico, California, and William & Mary. He later coached in the Canadian Football League, where he won two Grey Cup titles with the Montreal Alouettes.

He was hired by the Bills in 1986 and led the team to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances and eight playoff berths during a 12-year tenure. All four Super Bowl appearances ended in losses.

"Fortitude and resilience. He preached that continually," former Bills GM Bill Polian told the AP. "That message among the many that he delivered sunk in. His sense of humor and his eloquence just captured everybody from the day he walked into the meeting room."

One of Levy’s most well-known phrases, "Where else would you rather be than right here, right now," became a rallying cry for the team and its fan base.

Levy also served in the Army Air Corps during World War II and later returned to the Bills as general manager in 2006. He retired from that role after two seasons.

What's next:

Levy continues to campaign for former Bills special teams player Steve Tasker to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. This will be his first trip to Canton since 2022, when he attended the Hall of Fame Walk at age 98.

"Marv’s a hall of famer in every sense of the word. He’s a hall of fame human being and a hall of fame coach," Tasker told the Associated Press. "And if his campaign to get me in the Hall of Fame keeps him alive, I hope I never get in."

Bills head coach Sean McDermott, who played at William & Mary like Levy, said he still consults with Levy. "It’s one of the great honors of coaching the Buffalo Bills is to follow a coach like Marv Levy," McDermott told the AP.

Levy said he’s humbled by the attention and grateful that people are still interested in his story. He ended his interview with the Associated Press with a simple farewell: "Go Bills."