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.
Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Medford, Massachusetts | July 10, 1927
Died | September 16, 2020 Oakland, Maine | (aged 93)
Playing career | |
1948–1949 | US National Team |
1949–1952 | Boston University |
Position(s) | Defense |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1955–1962 | Colby College |
1962–1972 | Boston University |
1972–1973 | New England Whalers |
1972–1975 | New England Whalers (General Manager) |
1975 | New England Whalers |
1976–1977 | Colby College |
1977–1981 | New England Whalers (General Manager) |
1982–1993 | Adirondack Red Wings (Dir. of Player Personnel) |
1993–2001 | Pittsburgh Penguins (President) |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 303-147-12 (.669) |
Tournaments | 5–3 (.625) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
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 | |
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.[citation needed]
Honors
editIn 2010, he was elected as an inaugural inductee into the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame in the coaching category.[2]
Head coaching record
editCollege
editSeason | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Colby Mules Independent (1955–1961) | |||||||||
1955–56 | Colby College | ||||||||
1956–57 | Colby College | ||||||||
1957–58 | Colby College | ||||||||
1958–59 | Colby College | ||||||||
1959–60 | Colby College | ||||||||
1960–61 | Colby College | ||||||||
Colby College: | 73-45-3 | ||||||||
Colby Mules (ECAC Hockey) (1961–1962) | |||||||||
1961–62 | Colby College | 19-6-2 | 17-1-1 | 1st | ECAC Third-place game (loss) | ||||
Colby College: | 19-6-2 | 17-1-1 | |||||||
Boston University Terriers (ECAC Hockey) (1962–1972) | |||||||||
1962–63 | Boston University | 7-16-0 | 7-15-0 | 22nd | |||||
1963–64 | Boston University | 9-13-0 | 9-12-0 | 20th | |||||
1964–65 | Boston University | 25-6-0 | 15-3-0 | 1st | ECAC Third-place game (win) | ||||
1965–66 | Boston University | 27-8-0 | 17-2-0 | 2nd | NCAA consolation game (loss) | ||||
1966–67 | Boston University | 25-5-1 | 19-0-1 | 1st | NCAA runner-up | ||||
1967–68 | Boston University | 20-9-3 | 13-6-2 | 5th | ECAC Third-place game (loss) | ||||
1968–69 | Boston University | 19-10-1 | 13-8-0 | 6th | ECAC Third-place game (loss) | ||||
1969–70 | Boston University | 20-7-0 | 17-5-0 | 3rd | ECAC Third-place game (win) | ||||
1970–71 | Boston University | 28-2-1 | 18-1-1 | 1st | NCAA national champion | ||||
1971–72 | Boston University | 26-4-1 | 15-4-1 | 3rd | NCAA national champion | ||||
Boston University: | 206-80-7 | 143-56-5 | |||||||
Colby Mules (ECAC 2) (1976–1977) | |||||||||
1976–77 | Colby College | 8-16-0 | 5-16-0 | ||||||
Colby College: | 8-16-0 | 5-16-0 | |||||||
Total: | 306-147-12 | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
|
WHA
editTeam | Year | Regular season | 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 |
References
edit- ^ The Passing of Legendary Hockey Coach Jack Kelley
- ^ "WHA Hall of Fame Members". Archived from the original on 2019-01-15. Retrieved 2013-09-14.
- ^ "2008-09 ECAC Hockey Media Guide". ECAC Hockey. Retrieved 2014-07-11.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from The Internet Hockey Database