James Dennis Kelly (July 3, 1893 – July 11, 1972) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

coach and college athletics administrator. He coached at

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

and the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

and was head coach of the United States track and field team at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

Biography

Kelly was born on a farm near

Fonda, Iowa Fonda is a city in Pocahontas County, Iowa, United States. The population was 636 at the time of the 2020 census. History The city of Fonda was originally called Marvin. Marvin, however, was deemed too similar to Manson, Iowa and due to mail be ...

on July 3, 1893; he was the third of five children in the family. In high school, he was a

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

and

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

and played football and basketball. He studied at

Buena Vista College Buena Vista University is a private university in Storm Lake, Iowa. Founded in 1891 as Buena Vista College, it is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. The university's campus is situated on the shores of Storm Lake, a natural lake. At i ...

Morningside College Morningside University is a private university affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Sioux City, Iowa. Founded in 1894 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, Morningside University has 21 buildings on a campus in Sioux City (ar ...

and the

University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is the flagship univ ...

; after graduating from South Dakota, he returned to Fonda as an all-sports high school coach, and then to Buena Vista as a collegiate basketball, football and track coach. His teams at Buena Vista put up good records in all three sports, including winning the 1925–26 Iowa Conference basketball championship; he left in 1926, moving to

. From 1929 to 1936 he served as DePaul's head basketball coach, compiling a 99–22 record; he was also the head football coach and

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

. In 1937 Kelly moved to the

as the head track coach. Kelly's start at Minnesota was slow, but he eventually built a successful program; the

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big Te ...

won the NCAA team championship in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

, the only time they have won the title. At Minnesota, Kelly introduced an improved

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disk (mathematics), disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an classical antiqui ...

technique based on speed and good footwork; two of his pupils,

Bob Fitch Robert E. Fitch (July 28, 1919 – April 15, 2003) was an American athlete and coach. He broke the world record in the discus throw in 1946 with a mark of 54.93 m (180 ft in). He developed a rotational technique referred to ...

and

Fortune Gordien Fortune Everett Gordien (September 9, 1922 – April 10, 1990) was an American discus thrower and shot putter who set four world records in the discus throw. He competed in this event at the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Olympics and placed third, fourth ...

, set new

world records A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

in the discus with the "Minnesota Whip". The technique eventually became the new standard. In 1956 he was head coach of the United States men's track and field team at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

in Melbourne; the Americans topped the medal table with 15 gold medals. Kelly retired as Minnesota's track coach in 1963, but remained active in track and field as an official. He died in

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...

on July 11, 1972, aged 79.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Jim 1893 births 1972 deaths American men's basketball coaches American track and field coaches Basketball coaches from Iowa Buena Vista Beavers football coaches DePaul Blue Demons athletic directors DePaul Blue Demons football coaches DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers track and field coaches People from Pocahontas County, Iowa