Jack Kelley | |
Birth Date: | 10 July 1927 |
Birth Place: | Medford, Massachusetts |
Death Place: | Oakland, Maine |
Player Years1: | 1948–1949 |
Player Team1: | US National Team |
Player Years2: | 1949–1952 |
Player Team2: | Boston University |
Player Positions: | Defense |
Coach Years1: | 1955–1962 |
Coach Team1: | Colby College |
Coach Years2: | 1962–1972 |
Coach Team2: | Boston University |
Coach Years3: | 1972–1973 |
Coach Team3: | New England Whalers |
Coach Years4: | 1972–1975 |
Coach Team4: | New England Whalers (General Manager) |
Coach Years5: | 1975 |
Coach Team5: | New England Whalers |
Coach Years6: | 1976–1977 |
Coach Team6: | Colby College |
Coach Years7: | 1977–1981 |
Coach Team7: | New England Whalers (General Manager) |
Coach Years8: | 1982–1993 |
Coach Team8: | Adirondack Red Wings (Dir. of Player Personnel) |
Coach Years9: | 1993–2001 |
Coach Team9: | Pittsburgh Penguins (President) |
Overall Record: | 303-147-12 |
Tournament Record: | 5–3 |
Championships: | 1962 ECAC Hockey Champion 1965 ECAC Hockey Champion 1967 ECAC Hockey Champion 1971 ECAC Hockey Champion 1971 NCAA National Championship 1972 ECAC Hockey Tournament Champion 1972 NCAA national championship |
Awards: | 1962 Spencer Penrose Award 1973 Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame 1993 US Hockey Hall of Fame 2010 World Hockey Association Hall of Fame |
John Henry Kelley (July 10, 1927 – September 16, 2020[1]) was an American ice hockey coach and a member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Kelley was the first general manager and head coach of the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association (WHA). During the 1972-73 season, he won the Howard Baldwin Trophy as the WHA coach of the year and also led the Whalers to the Avco World Trophy. He previously served as head coach at Boston University, leading the Terriers to back-to-back NCAA hockey championships in 1971 and 1972. In his 10-year coaching career at Boston U (1962–72), he compiled a .720 winning percentage and won six Beanpot Tournaments.
Kelley, who was born in Medford, Massachusetts, also played his college hockey at Boston U, participating in the NCAA Hockey Tournament in 1951 and 1952. At the time of his graduation, he was the school's all-time leading scorer among defensemen. He then took over as coach at Colby College in 1955. After leaving the Whalers, he later worked in the front offices of the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins. His son is television writer and producer, David E. Kelley.
In 2010, he was elected as an inaugural inductee into the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame in the coaching category.[2]
Team | Year | Post season | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | W | L | T | Pts | Division rank | Result | ||
New England Whalers | 1972–73 | 78 | 46 | 10 | 2 | 94 | 1st in East | Won Avco Cup |
New England Whalers | 1974–75 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1st in East | Lost in Quarterfinals |
New England Whalers | 1975–76 | 33 | 14 | 16 | 3 | 31 | 3rd in East | Resigned |
WHA Totals | 116 | 63 | 48 | 5 |