Jeremiah Kelly (25 July 1900 – 24 September 1962) was a Scottish
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 played as a
right half
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
.
Career
Kelly was born and spent his early years in the mining village of
Newton
Newton most commonly refers to:
* Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist
* Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton
Newton may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film
* Newton ( ...
(
Cambuslang
Cambuslang ( sco, Cammuslang, from gd, Camas Lang) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a ...
parish); by the time of the
1911 census
The United Kingdom Census 1911 of 2 April 1911 was the 12th nationwide census conducted in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The total population of the United Kingdom was approximately 45,221,000, with 36,070,000 recorded in England ...
his family had moved a short distance to the hamlet of Caldervale (
Blantyre
Blantyre () is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an enumerated 800,264 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, L ...
parish). He began his career with local
junior team
Blantyre Victoria, joining his first
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km south ...
club
Ayr United in January 1925 at the age of 24 (however that may not have been what was provided to the club – it was fairly common for players of the time to 'adjust' their age down, and in articles covering Kelly's later transfers his actual age was three years older than reported).
[ He was unable to prevent the club's relegation from the top division in his first season, nor were the ''Honest Men'' (which at that time included some Scottish internationals in its ranks) able to climb out of the lower tier before he moved on.][J. Kelly Signs For Everton]
The Liverpool Post and Mercury, 11 February 1927, via Everton Independent Research Data The following season he had a major role in the ''Toffees'' winning the 1927–28 Football League
The 1927– 28 season was the 36th season of The Football League.
Final league tables
The tables and results below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found aThe Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundationwebsite and in ''Rothmans ...
title,[Car-Shares and Cemeteries: A Tribute to Jeremiah Kelly, EFC 1927-28]
Tony I'Anson, ToffeeWeb, 10 May 2016 making 40 appearances and scoring one goal – a rare feat for him. In August 1930, having not played in the first team at Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...
since the previous autumn and the club having been relegated, he signed for Carlisle United
Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...
of the Football League 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
In sports leagues, promotion and ...
to be deployed at centre half.[Everton's Concern Kelly-Carlisle]
Liverpool Echo, 6 August 1930, via Everton Independent Research Data He departed a year later (due to Carlisle being unable to pay any wages during the summer close season owing to their weak financial position)[ and crossed the ]Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
to play for and manage Dolphin
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...
, leading them to the final of the FAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...
in both 1931–32 and 1932–33, but losing to Shamrock Rovers
Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...
on both occasions.
In 1933 he was invited to play for Rennes
Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...
in France, their newly appointed player-manager at the time being former Ayr teammate Philip McCloy. However, both men only remained there for a matter of weeks: accounts of Kelly's debut performance against Montpellier
Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
were so poor that the directors decided to cancel his contract immediately, and McCloy also resigned in protest at this.Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
playing for Glentoran
Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882.
History
Early history
In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...
, then returned to Scotland with Dunfermline Athletic, but this was short deal which involved only one league appearance.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Jeremiah
1900 births
1977 deaths
Footballers from Cambuslang
Scottish people of Irish descent
Scottish men's footballers
English Football League players
Blantyre Victoria F.C. players
Ayr United F.C. players
Everton F.C. players
Carlisle United F.C. players
Glentoran F.C. players
Stade Rennais F.C. players
Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players
Scottish football managers
NIFL Premiership players
Ligue 1 players
League of Ireland players
League of Ireland managers
Scottish Football League players
Men's association football wing halves
Men's association football player-managers
Scottish expatriate sportspeople in France
Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Ireland
Expatriate men's footballers in France
Expatriate men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland
Scottish expatriate men's footballers
Scottish Junior Football Association players