{{Short description|Canadian sportscaster (1920–1998)}} '''Joseph Harold "Hal" Kelly''' (July 9, 1920 – March 23, 1998)<ref name="Obituary" /> was a Canadian sportscaster who covered the National Football League and the Montreal Expos Major League Baseball team for CBC Television.
==Early life and career== Kelly was born on July 9, 1920, in Ottawa.<ref name="Obituary" /> His father died when Kelly was sixteen and he helped his mother raise his three brothers and sister.<ref name="Family" /> Kelly attended Saint Patrick's College. He was a member of the school's football team, although injuries limited his playing time. After graduating from Saint Patrick's in 1939, he became an English-language newscaster at CKCH, a bilingual radio station in Hull, Ontario. After six months, he joined CKCO in Ottawa as a sports announcer, calling Interprovincial Rugby Football Union football and Allan Cup hockey games.<ref name="Montreal Gazette bio">{{cite news |title=American Football Featured on Sunday |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=To4tAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA22 |access-date=20 October 2024 |work=The Montreal Gazette |date=October 14, 1961}}</ref> After a two-year stint as a navigational instructor with the Royal Canadian Air Force, Jack Kent Cooke hired Kelly to call Toronto Maple Leafs baseball games on CKEY.<ref name="Obituary" />
==CBC== Kelly was a part of the CBC's IRFU and Queen's Plate broadcasts. In 1961, he became the host of the network's National Football League broadcasts.<ref name="Montreal Gazette bio" /> He was the television play-by-play announcer the Montreal Expos during their inaugural 1969 season.<ref>{{cite news |title=Baseball |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5DVgAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA37 |access-date=17 October 2024 |work=The Phoenix |date=March 29, 1969}}</ref> In 1971, the CBC replaced Kelly with Dave Van Horne at the behest of the Expos.<ref>{{cite news |title=Van Horne faces tough TV start with Expos |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zJgkAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA13 |access-date=17 October 2024 |work=The Montreal Gazette |date=March 31, 1971}}</ref>
==United States== From 1968 to 1970, Kelly filled in for his brother, Dan, on St. Louis Blues broadcasts when Dan was calling NHL games for CBS.<ref>{{cite news |title=Kellys -- the Irish Mafia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NskyAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA48 |access-date=29 September 2023 |work=Ottawa Citizen |date=December 18, 1968}}</ref> Kelly was the television announcer for the Minnesota North Stars from 1970 to 1973, the New York Islanders from 1973 to 1974, and the Washington Capitals during their inaugural 1974–75 season.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Coleman |first1=Jim |title=What became of ...? |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JJdlAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA19 |access-date=20 October 2024 |work=The Sunday Sun |date=January 14, 1971}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Coleman |first1=Jim |title=No title |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sW9kAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA28 |access-date=20 October 2024 |work=The Calgary Herald |date=May 18, 1972}}</ref><ref name="Islanders">{{cite news |last1=Snyder |first1=Brodie |title=Canada ready to return to international hockey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1pcuAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA62 |access-date=20 October 2024 |work=The Montreal Gazette |date=November 9, 1973}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Wolf |first1=Warner |last2=Weisman |first2=Larry |title=Let's Go to the Videotape: All the Plays and Replays from My Life in Sports |date=2000 |publisher=Grand Central Publishing |page=34 |isbn=978-0-7595-2335-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UY1cXTcka5kC |access-date=20 October 2024}}</ref> Kelly retired in 1975 due to rheumatoid arthritis.<ref name="Obituary" />
==Personal life== Kelly's younger brother, Dan Kelly, was an announcer for ''Hockey Night in Canada'', the St. Louis Blues, and the ''NFL on CBS''.<ref name="Islanders" /><ref name="Family" /> Their other two brothers, Lomer and Martin, were killed during World War II.<ref name="Family" /> Dan's sons, John and Dan, are also sports announcers.<ref name="Family">{{cite news |last1=Frayne |first1=Trent |title=Kelly family makes itself heard over roar of crowd |work=The Globe and Mail |date=May 29, 1985}}</ref>
Following his retirement, he spent his winters in Tarpon Springs, Florida and his summers on Lake Clear in Eganville, Ontario.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fraser |first1=Dan |title=Announcer got start in Hull |work=The Ottawa Citizen |date=March 25, 1998}}</ref> He died on March 23, 1998, in Ottawa after a lengthy illness.<ref name="Obituary">{{cite news |last1=Frayne |first1=Trent |title=Lives Lived: Joseph Harold (Hal) Kelly |work=The Globe and Mail |date=April 9, 1998}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Hal}} Category:1920 births Category:1998 deaths Category:Mass media people from Ottawa Category:Minnesota North Stars announcers Category:Montreal Expos announcers Category:New York Islanders announcers Category:Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II Category:St. Louis Blues announcers Category:Washington Capitals announcers