Shipwreck Kelly (American football)
| No. 44 Kentucky Wildcats | |
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| Date of birth | July 8, 1910 |
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| Place of birth | Simstown, Kentucky |
| Date of death | August 17, 1986 (aged 76) |
| Place of death | Lighthouse Point, Florida |
| Career information | |
| Position(s) | Halfback |
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| College | University of Kentucky |
| Career history | |
| As player | |
| 1932 | New York Giants |
| 1933-1937 | Brooklyn Dodgers |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Career stats | |
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John Simms "Shipwreck" Kelly (July 8, 1910 – August 17, 1986) was a professional American football player who played halfback in the National Football League; he was also an owner and banker, most prominent in New York City in the 1930s and 1940s. He played five seasons for the New York Giants (1932) and the Brooklyn Dodgers (1933–1937). Kelly became a player-coach and later a player/coach/owner with the Dodgers football club, the successor to the Dayton Triangles, a charter member of the NFL. He gained his nickname from his ability, while at the University of Kentucky, to make a "shipwreck" of opposing defensive lines, or from Alvin "Shipwreck" Kelly, who was famous for pole-sitting in the 1920s.[1] He was a relative of former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms.
Biography
He was frequently in attendance at the Stork Club, "21" and El Morocco.
At age 23, Kelly became a player/coach and later a player/coach/owner with the Dodgers football club, which he bought with a partner, Dan Topping. The Dodgers football club was the successor to the Dayton Triangles, a charter member of the NFL.
Kelly was married in 1941, in New York City, to the "Millionaire Debutante" Brenda Frazier, after whom the long-running comic strip Brenda Starr was named.[2] The couple bought a new Packard Darrin convertible from the New York Auto Show, and travelled around NYC with people such as Jock Whitney and Tom Kerrigan. They were married for fifteen years, and had one daughter, Brenda Victoria. In 1956, he married Catherine Hannon. They had a son, John Kelly, who was in the Winter Olympics in 1980.
During World War II, Kelly was recruited by the FBI to travel to Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Chile and Argentina to track the activities of wealthy German expatriates helping the Nazi cause.
After the war, Kelly pursued a career as an investment banker, Florida real estate investor and became a champion amateur golfer. He played golf with the Duke of Windsor and Richard Nixon. He was also a big game hunter. He died of a stroke at age 76 and is buried in his home town of Simstown, Kentucky.
References
- ↑ "Shipwreck Kelly Dies; Football Star in 30's." New York Times 25 Aug. 1986: 6. Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 22 Dec. 2011.
- ↑ "Behind the Brenda Starr comic strip". Chicago Tribune Business Columnists (Chicago Tribune). Retrieved 12 December 2010.
External links
Shipwreck Kelly at Find a Grave
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