Donald Stafford "Red" Kellett (July 15, 1909 – November 3, 1970) was the President and General Manager of the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

franchise of the National Football League from 1953 until 1966. He also had a brief playing career in Major League Baseball as an

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

for the Boston Red Sox.

Early life and college

Born in Brooklyn,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Kellett attended

Erasmus Hall High School Erasmus Hall High School was a four-year public high school located at 899–925 Flatbush Avenue between Church and Snyder Avenues in the Flatbush neighborhood of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It was founded in 1786 as Erasmus Hall Aca ...

in Brooklyn and lettered in four sports. He then attended Peekskill Military Academy in Peekskill, New York, where he lettered in three sports. Kellet enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania where he majored in economics. In his first year, he captained the freshman football, basketball, and baseball teams. He reached varsity level for all three of the sports the next year, and received a total of nine varsity letters while at Penn. He played halfback on the football team,

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

on the basketball team, and alternated between second baseman and shortstop on the baseball team. As a senior, he was captain for the baseball team, and starting quarterback for the football team. He also was President of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, was a member of the

Phi Beta Kappa Society The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ar ...

and served on the board of governors for Houston Hall.

Baseball career

After graduating Penn, Kellett played briefly for the Boston Red Sox. He appeared in nine games during the 1934 season. He went 0-for-9 with a walk in 10

plate appearances In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

. In the field, he made 2 errors in 15 total chances for an .867

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

playing at shortstop, second and third base. Following the season, he would be sent to the minors, and played for teams in Little Rock, Arkansas and Albany, New York. He also spent a brief amount of time with the Syracuse Chiefs before going into coaching full-time.

Coaching career

In autumn 1935, he was named head coach for the freshmen football and basketball teams at Ursinus College in

Collegeville, Pennsylvania Collegeville is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a suburb outside of Philadelphia on Perkiomen Creek. Collegeville was incorporated in 1896. It is the location of Ursinus College which opened in 1869. The population was 5,089 at t ...

. He became head coach of the varsity football team after his brief stint with the chiefs ended. In 1941, he left Ursinus to return to his alma mater. At Penn, he served as Director of Freshmen Athletics and head coach of the freshmen basketball and football teams. He later became head coach of the varsity basketball team, and won a conference title for the 1944–45 season.

Broadcast career

He left Penn after the 1946–47 season to become the play-by-play announcer for WFIL in Philadelphia. The first game he announced was also the first commercial football telecast for the station. Kellett went on to head operations for WFIL's radio and (now defunct) television station. During the 1948–49 season, Kellett called

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

games on WOR and

WPIX WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, it is operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) by Nexstar Media Group, making it a ''de facto'' owned-and-operated station and flagship (broadcas ...

Football executive

The

made Kellett team President and General Manager shortly after the team became a National Football League franchise. Kellett is credited for helping the team get

Johnny Unitas John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 ...

, a move which made the team a household name. In 1959, Kellett was a contender for NFL Commissioner. He was supported by four team owners who opposed the candidacy of

Marshall Leahy Marshall Edmund Leahy (October 10, 1910 – January 3, 1983) was an American attorney who was the chief legal counsel for the National Football League. Early life Leahy was born on October 10, 1910, in San Francisco. He was an All-Pacific Coast g ...

due to his plan to move the league office to San Francisco. After eight days of deadlock,

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

general manager Pete Rozelle was selected as a compromise candidate.

Later life

Kellett retired to

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

in 1966, and died there from a heart attack at age 61. He was buried in

Pikesville, Maryland Pikesville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. Pikesville is just northwest of the Baltimore city limits. It is the northwestern suburb closest to Baltimore. The population was 30,764 at the 2010 cens ...

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kellett, Red 1909 births 1970 deaths American men's basketball players Guards (basketball) Major League Baseball infielders National Football League general managers National Football League team presidents Boston Red Sox players Baltimore Colts executives New York Knicks announcers Penn Quakers baseball players Penn Quakers football players Penn Quakers men's basketball coaches Penn Quakers men's basketball players Ursinus Bears football coaches Erasmus Hall High School alumni Sportspeople from Brooklyn Baseball players from New York City Coaches of American football from New York (state) Players of American football from New York (state) Baseball players from New York (state) Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New York City