Everett Edward "Tuck" Kelley (January 8, 1898 – August 15, 1983) was an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

player and

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

. He also served in the Navy during both World Wars, eventually as a

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

. As a football player, Kelley was an All-Southern

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 ...

for the

Vanderbilt Commodores football The Vanderbilt Commodores football program represents Vanderbilt University in the sport of American football. The Commodores compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the East Divis ...

team of

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. As a physician, he was once the surgeon at the Presbyterian Hospital of the City of Chicago.

Early years

Everett Edward Kelley was born January 8, 1898, in

Whitesville, Kentucky Whitesville is a home rule-class city in Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 552 at the 2010 census, down from 632 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Owensboro, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city wa ...

, to Charles Alphonzo Kelley and Mary Alice Ralph. His father was a farmer and a service station operator.

University of Kentucky

Kelley played for the

Kentucky Wildcats football The Kentucky Wildcats football program represents the University of Kentucky in the sport of American football. The Wildcats compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern D ...

teams of the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

, selected for All-Kentucky teams in an era dominated by

Centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. He was elected treasurer of the freshman class.

Vanderbilt University

Kelley attended medical school at Vanderbilt, where he was a member of

Alpha Omega Alpha Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society () is an honor society in the field of medicine. Alpha Omega Alpha currently has active Chapters in 132 LCME- accredited medical schools in the United States and Lebanon. It annually elects over 4,000 new ...

. He started at

for

Dan McGugin Daniel Earle McGugin (July 29, 1879 – January 23, 1936) was an American football player and coach, as well as a lawyer. He served as the head football coach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee from 1904 to 1917 and again from ...

Vanderbilt football The Vanderbilt Commodores football program represents Vanderbilt University in the sport of American football. The Commodores compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the East Divis ...

teams from

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

. He was a prominent member of Commodores teams that compiled a win–loss–tie record of 20–2–3 () over his three years, and won two conference titles.

1922

Kelley transferred to Vanderbilt in 1922, having formerly played

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...

. Tuck was a starter for the scoreless tie with Michigan at the dedication of

Dudley Field FirstBank Stadium (formerly Dudley Field and Vanderbilt Stadium) is a American football, football stadium located in Nashville, Tennessee. Completed in 1922 as the first stadium in the American South, South to be used exclusively for college foo ...

. After the season, he was selected for

Billy Evans William George Evans (February 10, 1884 – January 23, 1956), nicknamed "The Boy Umpire", was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1906 to 1927. He became, at age 22, the youngest umpire in majo ...

's All-Southern team; his "Southern Honor Roll."

1923

The rematch with the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

Ferry Field Ferry Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It opened in 1906 and was home to the Michigan Wolverines football team prior to the opening of Michigan Stadium in 1927. It had a capacity of 46,000. It is currently used as a tai ...

in 1923, saw Michigan win a bitterly fought contest 3 to 0. Michigan went on to have an undefeated season, and is one of the teams to claim a national title in '23. After the game, the

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

McDonald approached Kelley and told him, "You are the first individual I've complimented after a game in which I officiated, but I want to tell you that I never saw a better guard than you are." One of the four touchdowns by

Gil Reese David Argillus "Gil" Reese (January 14, 1901 – May 30, 1993) nicknamed "The Tupelo Flash" was an American football, basketball, and baseball player for the Vanderbilt Commodores of Vanderbilt University. He was captain of all three his senior ...

in the 35 to 7 victory over the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

was a 5-yard run behind Kelley. At the end of the year, Kelley was selected for the All-Southern squad. He was elected to captain the Commodores the next year.

1924

The 1924 team, captained by Kelley, was dubbed in

Fred Russell Fred Russell (August 27, 1906 – January 26, 2003) was an American sportswriter from Tennessee who served as sports editor for the ''Nashville Banner'' for 68 years (1930–1998). Beginning in the 1960s he served for nearly three decades as ...

's ''Fifty Years of Vanderbilt Football'' "the most eventful season in the history of Vanderbilt football." On opening day against Henderson-Brown, Vanderbilt won 13–0. One of Vandy's two scores came on a punt blocked by Kelley, recovered by

Hek Wakefield Henry Smith "Hek" Wakefield (February 10, 1899 – November 19, 1962) was an American college football player and coach. He played fullback and end for the Vanderbilt Commodores of Vanderbilt University from 1921 to 1924, receiving the honor ...

. The third week of play saw the Commodores tie with the

Quantico Marines Marine Corps Base Quantico (commonly abbreviated MCB Quantico) is a United States Marine Corps installation located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly of southern Prince William County, Virginia, northern Stafford County, and southeaster ...

by a score of 13–13. Kelley was injured in this game. He would sit on the bench the rest of the year except for five minutes of the

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

game the next week.

Lynn Bomar Robert Lynn Bomar (January 21, 1901 – June 11, 1964) was an American football end in the National Football League (NFL). Bomar played college football, basketball and baseball for Vanderbilt University, following coach Wallace Wade and ...

suffered a

brain hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

in the game against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

that year, and in the final game against

Sewanee Sewanee may refer to: * Sewanee, Tennessee * Sewanee: The University of the South * ''The Sewanee Review'', an American literary magazine established in 1892 * Sewanee Natural Bridge * Saint Andrews-Sewanee School See also * Suwanee (disambiguati ...

, Wakefield broke his leg. Thus as the season finished, three of Vanderbilt's All-Southern selections for 1923 sat on the bench.

Personal

In June 1925, Kelley married the former Mary Palmer Wade. Kelley's son Everett Jr was also in the Navy as an aviator, and served in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Kelley Sr. is buried in Section U, Site 377 at

Marietta National Cemetery Marietta National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Marietta in Cobb County, Georgia. It encompasses , and as of the end of 2006, had 18,742 interments. It is closed to new interments, and is now maintained by t ...

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

.Nationwide Gravesite Locator
/ref>

References

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, Everett 1898 births 1983 deaths American football guards American football tackles Vanderbilt Commodores football players All-Southern college football players People from Daviess County, Kentucky Players of American football from Kentucky Physicians from Kentucky