Thomas John Kelly (born 28 March 1964) is a Scottish former professional footballer. Kelly began his professional career when he joined Hibernian from Scottish non-league sid
Gartcosh United
He subsequently moved on to

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...

and Queen of the South before joining

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

on a free transfer in August 1985. He played 15 times the following season, but was released and joined

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

in July 1986. The following season saw Torquay involved in a battle to avoid being the first side to suffer automatic relegation to the

Conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

, Kelly playing in the final game of the season against

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

in which Paul Dobson's late goal saw Lincoln City relegated. He had begun his Plainmoor career as a midfielder, but switched to left-back after the sale of Phil King to

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

. Cyril Knowles took over as Torquay manager in the summer and transformed the side into one battling for promotion. Kelly played 120 times for the Gulls before moving to

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

on a free transfer in June 1989. He immediately became a regular in the York side, but in March 1990 moved back to

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, joining Exeter City for a fee of £15,000. He played 88 times, scoring 9 goals, for the Grecians, winning a Division Four championship medal in 1990, before returning to Torquay United on a free transfer in January 1993 and playing his part in another of Torquay's escapes from relegation to the Conference that season. He played 117 times, scoring 8 goals in his second spell with the Gulls before being released by Eddie May at the end of the 1995–96 season. He moved to non-league Weymouth, before moving to Teignmouth from whom he joined Ilfracombe Town. Kelly left Ilfracombe in November 1997 to join Taunton Town, managed by former Torquay teammate Russell Musker. He quickly settled into the side and was appointed captain, taking over as player-coach when previous assistant manager Derek Fowler stepped down in September 2000. At the end of that season he played in Taunton's 2-1

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, also known as the Isuzu FA Vase for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football competition run by and named after The Football Association (The FA), for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English Nation ...

Final win over Berkhamsted Town at

Villa Park Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...

. In January 2004 Kelly moved to

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, South West England. It is the main town of the Torridge District, Torridge Districts of England, local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bi ...

, managed by another former Torquay colleague, Sean William Joyce. He remained with Bideford until the summer of 2006 when he joined Bridgwater Town, where he played alongside his son Cameron, a midfielder. In March 2007, Kelly joined Devon League side Stoke Gabriel and by 2009 he was player-manager of

Bovey Tracey Bovey Tracey () is a town and civil parish in Devon, England. It is located on the edge of Dartmoor, which gives rise to the slogan used on the town's boundary signs: ''The Gateway to the Moor''. It is often known locally as ''Bovey''. About so ...

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Tom 1964 births Living people Footballers from Bellshill Scottish men's footballers English Football League players Hibernian F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. players Queen of the South F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players York City F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Weymouth F.C. players Ilfracombe Town A.F.C. players Taunton Town F.C. players Bideford A.F.C. players Bridgwater United F.C. players Stoke Gabriel & Torbay Police F.C. players Bovey Tracey A.F.C. players Scottish football managers Bovey Tracey A.F.C. managers Men's association football fullbacks