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Robert Kelly (football chairman)

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Sir Robert Kelly
Born
Robert Kelly

1902
Scotland
Died21 September 1971(1971-09-21) (aged 68)
Burnside, Glasgow
NationalityScottish
Known forCeltic Football Club Chairman
SFA President
Board member ofCeltic F.C., Scottish Football Association

Sir Robert "Bob" Kelly (1902 - 21 September 1971) was appointed a member of the board of Scottish football club Celtic F.C. after the death of his father James Kelly in 1931. He later became chairman in 1947, a position he held until 1971.[1][2]

Early life

Robert Kelly was born in 1902,[1] the fourth son in a family of six sons and four daughters.[3] His father James Kelly played for Celtic, and was the club's first ever captain.[4] James Kelly subsequently became a director at the club and had a brief spell as chairman.[5] Robert Kelly's mother, Margaret, was also herself the daughter of a Celtic founder.[3]

Kelly and his brothers were educated at St Joseph's College, Dumfries, a fee-paying school opened to develop a professional Catholic middle class in Scotland.[6] His eldest brother, Francis, went on to play a handful of games for Celtic in 1918[7][8] but was killed on military service in a train crash in 1919.[9] Three other brothers played for Queen's Park.[8] Kelly himself played football for a spell at junior level for Blantyre Victoria, but was limited due to an injury sustained to his arm in a childhood traffic accident,[8] and he soon gave up playing at his father's behest.[10] Despite his arm injury, Kelly was also an excellent tennis player.[1] Kelly went on to become a stockbroker by profession.[8]

Celtic director & football legislator

Following the death of his father, Kelly joined the Celtic board of directors in 1932.[11] Taking an interest in the administrative side of the game, he joined the Scottish League Management Committee in 1939.[1] When chairman Tom White died in 1947, Kelly was appointed as his successor.[8] Although Celtic's performances were generally poor at this time, Kelly's value as a legislator was quickly realised, and he was elected as president of the Scottish League in 1950.[8] He had a close working relationship at Celtic with manager Jimmy McGrory, and indeed had the final say on team selection in most instances. This often resulted in decisions on line-ups that on occasion appeared somewhat eccentric.[12] Despite this, Celtic's performances improved in the early 1950s, and a Scottish Cup Final win in 1951 was followed three years later by a league and cup double.[12] Kelly was a prime advocate in Scotland for use of the new all-weather white ball, in preference to the then standard brown leather ball which generally got heavier as the match progressed and was difficult for spectators to see on dark afternoons.[13] He also resolutely defended Celtic's right to fly the Eire flag at Celtic Park when the SFA made efforts in 1952 to have it removed.[12]

In 1960, Kelly was elected as president of the SFA, and his tenure in that role coincided with an upturn in Scotland's football success.[1][8] He expressed strong views on a variety of footballing matters, opposing the live television coverage of matches, due to concern that the fees obtained would not compensate for loss of atmosphere within the ground.[8]. He was, however, dismissive of the World Cup, stating regarding the 1960 tournament in Chile - "I can see no sense in playing... [in]... a remote country in which I understand it takes one year to become acclimatised."[8] He also initially lacked enthusiatism for European club competitions, instead advocating the setting up of a British Cup tournament.[8]

Celtic, however, were once again struggling in the early 1960s. By early 1965 they had gone over seven years without a major trophy. At this time, Kelly approached Jock Stein to become manager of Celtic. Stein agreed, taking control of all team matters from Kelly.[14] Within weeks, Celtic won the Scottish Cup,[15] and the following season won the first of nine successive league championships.[16][17] In season 1966–1967 Celtic won all four domestic competitions, and also became the first non-Latin club to win the European Cup, defeating Inter Milan 2–1 in Lisbon.[18]

In 1969, Kelly became the first club chairman in Scotland to be knighted for his services to football.[1] He regarded the honour as belonging to Celtic and Scotland as much as to himself.[1]

Kelly stood down as chairman in April 1971, where he was then given the honorary title at Celtic of Club President.[1] Desmond White succeeded him as Celtic chairman. After several months of illness, Kelly died at his home on 21 September 1971.[1] Jock Stein stated that "No man has done more for the club [Celtic] in every way than Sir Robert Kelly."[1] Scottish League president, James Aitken, described Kelly as one of the "giants" of Scottish football, and that he was "a most outstanding legislator."[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Sir Robert Kelly, supreme football administrator". The Glasgow Herald. 22 September 1971. p. 5. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  2. ^ "Bob Kelly - Mr Celtic". Evening Times. 21 September 1971. p. 28. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  3. ^ a b Wilson, Brian (1988). Celtic - A Century With Honour. Willow Books. p. 85. ISBN 0-00-218230-0.
  4. ^ Campbell, Tom; Woods, Pat (1987). The Glory & The Dream. Grafton Books. p. 344. ISBN 0-586-20005-3.
  5. ^ Campbell, Tom; Woods, Pat (1987). The Glory & The Dream. Grafton Books. p. 348. ISBN 0-586-20005-3.
  6. ^ Wilson, Brian (1988). Celtic - A Century With Honour. Willow Books. p. 86. ISBN 0-00-218230-0.
  7. ^ "Kelly, Francis". FitbaStats. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Campbell, Tom; Woods, Pat (1987). The Glory & The Dream. Grafton Books. p. 407. ISBN 0-586-20005-3.
  9. ^ "Francis Kelly - Service Record". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  10. ^ Campbell, Tom; Woods, Pat (1987). The Glory & The Dream. Grafton Books. p. 345. ISBN 0-586-20005-3.
  11. ^ Wilson, Brian (1988). Celtic - A Century With Honour. Willow Books. pp. 85–86. ISBN 0-00-218230-0.
  12. ^ a b c Campbell, Tom; Woods, Pat (1987). The Glory & The Dream. Grafton Books. p. 409. ISBN 0-586-20005-3.
  13. ^ Campbell, Tom; Woods, Pat (1987). The Glory & The Dream. Grafton Books. pp. 408–409. ISBN 0-586-20005-3.
  14. ^ Rafferty, John (13 February 1965). "Jock Stein to have full control over Celtic players". The Scotsman. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  15. ^ "Celtic revive old tradition". The Times. 26 April 1965. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  16. ^ Jacobs, Raymond (9 May 1966). "Celtic win League Championship". The Glasgow Herald. p. 9. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  17. ^ Cuddihy, Paul (27 April 2014). "Nine-in-a-row was sealed 40 years ago". Celtic FC. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  18. ^ "Celtic win European Cup 1967". BBC – A Sporting Nation. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
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