John "Snooks" Kelley (July 11, 1907 – April 10, 1986) was an American

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

coach. Kelley was coach of the

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

Eagles ice hockey team for 36 years. Kelley won the 1949 NCAA ice hockey title and was the first coach to win 500 games in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

. He was inducted into the

United States Hockey Hall of Fame The United States Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1973 with the goal of preserving the history of ice hockey in the United States while recognizing the extraordinary contributions of select players, coaches, administrators, officials and ...

in 1974

Career

Kelley arrived at Boston College in 1925 after attending

Boston College High School , motto_translation = ''So they may know You.'' , address = 150 Morrissey Boulevard , city = Boston , state = Massachusetts , zipcode = 02125 , country ...

. He was a two sport athlete for the Eagles, playing both

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and ice hockey. Kelley finished his collegiate playing career following his graduation in 1930. Kelley's graduation came just after hockey was removed from as a varsity sport due to the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. On January 8, 1933, Kelley agreed to coach a group of BC students while he was completing his teaching at Cambridge Latin. The position offered no pay, and forced him to give up playing with the Boston Hockey Club, but it was the beginning of a career that would last until 1972. Kelley's coaching career was put on hold with the outbreak of

World War II 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 ...

. In 1942 Kelley joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and remained enlisted until 1946, before returning to coaching. Just three years after serving with the Navy Kelley lead his Boston College team over Dartmouth and win the NCAA national championship. It would be the first championship won by an Eastern school. The 1949 National Championship was the only one of his career, however he would lead the Eagles back to the title game in 1965. Boston College lost the championship game to

Michigan Tech Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...

8–2. On December 26, 1952

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

’s famous

Beanpot Tournament The Beanpot is an annual ice hockey tournament among the four major US college hockey schools of the Boston, Massachusetts area, usually held during the first two Mondays in February at TD Garden. The tournament has been held annually since the 1 ...

was established. Kelley enjoyed great success in the tournament winning 5 of the first 10. Some have pointed to his success in the Beanpot leading to Kelley gaining his stature as the face of BC hockey. Kelley coached BC to eight Beanpot titles in thirteen years, including three in a row from 1963-65. In addition to the National Championship and his Beanpot wins Kelley also racked up an impressive amount of accolades including: eight New England Championships, nine appearances in the ECAC Division I playoffs, one ECAC playoff title and nine NCAA Tournament appearances. Kelley won the

Spencer Penrose Award The Spencer Penrose Award is awarded yearly to the top coach in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey by the American Hockey Coaches Association. The finalists for each year's award comprise the conference Coach of the Year winners from each Division ...

as College Hockey's Coach of the Year in 1959 and 1972. His success at BC earned him the nickname "Dean of American College Hockey Coaches". In a February 23, 1972 game against rival

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

Kelley earned his 500th win making him the first NCAA Division-I men's hockey coach to reach that mark. For his career Kelley posted a record of 501-243-15 in his 36-year career. His 501 wins would remain a school record until current coach

Jerry York Jerry York (born July 25, 1945) is an American former ice hockey coach who was the men's ice hockey coach at Boston College. York is the winningest coach in NCAA hockey, and leads the all-time list as the only Division I head coach with over 1,0 ...

, who played for Kelley from 1963 to 1967, passed him in 2014. Kelley had spent most 41 of the first 47 years of his adult life on the Heights as either a player or coach. In 1970 Kelley was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame. Two years later, in 1972, Kelley received the

Lester Patrick Trophy The Lester Patrick Trophy has been presented by the National Hockey League and USA Hockey since 1966 to honor a recipient's contribution to ice hockey in the United States. It is considered a non-NHL trophy because it may be awarded to players, c ...

for his contribution to hockey in the United States, not only for his accomplishments on the ice but also because he steadfastly refused to recruit players from Canada. Kelley felt recruiting Canadians would deprive Americans of a chance to develop their hockey potential. In 1974 Kelley be inducted in the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. On April 10, 1986, following a long bout with an illness, John "Snooks" Kelley died. He was 78 years old.

Head coaching record

Source:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, John 1907 births 1986 deaths American ice hockey coaches Boston College Eagles baseball players Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey players Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey coaches Lester Patrick Trophy recipients Sportspeople from Cambridge, Massachusetts United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductees United States Navy sailors Boston College High School alumni

Career

Head coaching record

See also

References

External links