Laurence Kelly (28 April 1925 – 1972) was an English professional

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 defender 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 ...

for

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

and

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 ...

. He signed amateur forms for his home-town club in 1940 and made his first-team debut in the 1942–43 season in the Wartime League (North), with seven appearances in all. He first played in the Football League in 1947–48. However Wolves were then at the start of a period of dominance in the First Division and Kelly was not a regular first team player; he made 60 league appearances in three seasons. In October 1950 he was persuaded to move to Huddersfield who had had difficulties with the left back position. He made the position his own for the next six years, during which he was a member of the Huddersfield Town defence which was ever-present through the 1952–53 season. He made 239 first team appearances in all, playing five seasons in the First Division and two in the Second. Huddersfield also reached the quarter-final of the

F.A. Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competiti ...

during this period. In 1956–57 it was Huddersfield's policy to reduce the average age of the team and Kelly lost his place to the up-and-coming Ray Wilson. At the end of the season he moved to play for and manage

non-league Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

club

Nuneaton Borough Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football. In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton t ...

. He resigned from that post in December 1958.

References

*Huddersfield Town: A Complete Record 1910–1990, Terry Frost, Breedon Books 1990 *Huddersfield Town, 75 Years On. G.S. Binns, Huddersfield Town AFC, 1984 *99 Years and Counting – Huddersfield Town Centenary History by A.Hodgson, G.&I. Thomas and J.Ward, Huddersfield Town AFC, 2007 *Soccer at War 1939–45, Jack Rollin, Willow Books, 1985 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Laurie 1925 births 1972 deaths Footballers from Wolverhampton English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Nuneaton Borough F.C. players English Football League players