Gerard Michael Kelly (18 September 1908 – January qtr. 1983) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who scored 67 goals in 216 league appearances in a 12-year career in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

from 1927 to 1939. He played for

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

, and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Career

Kelly left Hylton Colliery at the age of 19 to sign for

in 1927. He never made the first team at

Roker Park Roker Park was a football ground in Roker, Sunderland, England, which was the home of Sunderland A.F.C. from 1898 to 1997, before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Its final capacity was around 22,500, with only a small part being seated; ...

and the following year joined

. He scored 11 goals in 38 appearances in the 1928–29 season, bagging his first goal in the

in a 5–1 win over

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

Haig Avenue Haig Avenue is a football stadium in Blowick, Southport, Merseyside, England, that holds 6,008 people (1,660 seated, 4,164 standing) Since its opening in 1905 it has been the home ground of Southport F.C. Everton Reserves also use the stadium fo ...

on 8 September. He scored four goals in nine

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

games in the 1929–30 campaign, before departing Seedhill. He signed with

, and scored seven goals in 14 First Division games in the 1929–30 season. He scored eight goals in 20 appearances for the "Terriers" in the 1930–31 campaign, including a hat-trick against

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

on 10 September. However, he played just four games at

Leeds Road Leeds Road was a association football, football stadium in Huddersfield, England. It operated from its construction in 1908 until the Kirklees Stadium was opened nearby for the 1994–95 in English football, 1994–95 season. It was the home of ...

at the start of the 1931–32 season, before signing with

, and seeing out the 1931–32 season with six goals in 20

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

games for the "Addicks". He then left The Valley and joined

. The "Seals" finished fourth in the Third Division North in 1932–33, before posting tenth and third-place finishes in 1933–34 and 1934–35 He scored 27 goals in 73 league appearances in his time at

Sealand Road Sealand Road was the home stadium of Chester City Football Club (until 1983 known as Chester Football Club) from 1906 until 1990. Although officially known simply as The Stadium, it was more commonly referred to as Sealand Road. It was much loved ...

. He joined Third Division North side

for a "substantial fee" in June 1936. Starting off firmly in the first 11, his place slipped away over the 1936–37 season and he went on to score twice in 21 league and cup games. In August 1937 he was given a free transfer from

The Old Recreation Ground The Old Recreation Ground was a football stadium located in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, England, and home to Port Vale F.C. from 1913 to 1950. It was the sixth ground the club used. Structure and facilities The stadium was in rather bad conditio ...

to Second Division club

. A very quick right-winger who could also play as a centre-forward, he arrived at The Dell to add depth to the Southampton forward line. Although he brought a wealth of experience with him, he spent most of his time in the reserves and in his two years on the south coast, he made only 19 first-team appearances, scoring twice. Following the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

his professional career ended and he retired from the game.

Career statistics

Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Gerry 1908 births 1983 deaths Footballers from Sunderland English footballers Association football wingers Hylton Colliery Welfare F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Nelson F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Southampton F.C. players English Football League players