Lester Hamilton Kelly (14 February 1892 – 6 January 1958) was an
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
er who played with the
Melbourne University Football Club in the
Victorian Football League (VFL).
Family
The son of Rev. Robert Kelly, and Mary Kelly, née Steer, Lester Hamilton Kelly was born at
Moonta, South Australia
Moonta is a town on the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia, north-northwest of the state capital of Adelaide. It is one of three towns known as the Copper Coast or "Little Cornwall" for their shared copper mining history.
Description
The town ...
on 14 February 1892.
He married Christina Maude Howard in 1916.
Education
Educated at
Wesley College, and the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
, he was an outstanding athlete, and was the first Australian schoolboy to high-jump six feet.
At the Wesley College Sports on 21 October 1910, Kelly won the Open shot put (32ft 10in), the open long jump (20ft 8½in), the open 220 yards (23 1/5 secs.), and was second ("by inches") in the open 100 yards.
Football
All of the 40 games he played with University resulted in losses. Kelly played the most games without recording a win of all players in the history of the
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...
.
Military service
He enlisted in the First AIF on 17 August 1914.
Schoolmaster
On his return to Australia, he was a member of the teaching staff at
Wesley College.
Death
He died on 6 January 1958.
Obituaries: L.H. Kelly, ''Wesley College Chronicle'', No.272, May 1958), p.48.
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Footnotes
References
* Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2007). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.
World War One Embarkation Roll: Second Lieutenant Lester Hamilton Kelly
collection of the ''Australian War Memorial''.
World War One Service Record: Captain Lester Hamilton Kelly
''National Archives of Australia''.
World War One Nominal Roll: Captain Lester Hamilton Kelly
collection of the ''Australian War Memorial''.
Great in Sport, Great in War, ''The Winner'', (Wednesday, 22 November 1916), p.6.
Recent Fighting Described by Prominent Footballers, ''The Winner'', (Wednesday, 22 November 1916), p.6.
External links
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1892 births
1958 deaths
People from Moonta, South Australia
People educated at Wesley College (Victoria)
Australian male high jumpers
Australian rules footballers from South Australia
University Football Club players
Australian military personnel of World War I
Military personnel from Melbourne
Australian schoolteachers
Wesley College (Victoria)
University of Melbourne alumni
Sportsmen from South Australia
Australian Athletics Championships winners
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