# Hal Kelly

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{{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](/source/National_Football_League) and the [Montreal Expos](/source/Montreal_Expos) [Major League Baseball](/source/Major_League_Baseball) team for [CBC Television](/source/CBC_Television).

==Early life and career==
Kelly was born on July 9, 1920, in [Ottawa](/source/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](/source/CKCH), a bilingual radio station in [Hull, Ontario](/source/Hull%2C_Ontario). After six months, he joined [CKCO](/source/CIWW) in Ottawa as a sports announcer, calling [Interprovincial Rugby Football Union](/source/East_Division_(CFL)) football and [Allan Cup](/source/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](/source/Royal_Canadian_Air_Force), [Jack Kent Cooke](/source/Jack_Kent_Cooke) hired Kelly to call [Toronto Maple Leafs](/source/Toronto_Maple_Leafs_(International_League)) baseball games on [CKEY](/source/CHKT).<ref name="Obituary" />

==CBC==
Kelly was a part of the CBC's IRFU and [Queen's Plate](/source/King'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](/source/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](/source/St._Louis_Blues) broadcasts when Dan was calling [NHL games for CBS](/source/NHL_on_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](/source/Minnesota_North_Stars) from 1970 to 1973, the [New York Islanders](/source/New_York_Islanders) from 1973 to 1974, and the [Washington Capitals](/source/Washington_Capitals) during their inaugural [1974–75 season](/source/1974%E2%80%9375_Washington_Capitals_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](/source/rheumatoid_arthritis).<ref name="Obituary" />

==Personal life==
Kelly's younger brother, [Dan Kelly](/source/Dan_Kelly_(sportscaster)), was an announcer for ''[Hockey Night in Canada](/source/Hockey_Night_in_Canada)'', the St. Louis Blues, and the ''[NFL on CBS](/source/NFL_on_CBS)''.<ref name="Islanders" /><ref name="Family" /> Their other two brothers, Lomer and Martin, were killed during [World War II](/source/World_War_II).<ref name="Family" />  Dan's sons, [John](/source/John_Kelly_(sportscaster)) and [Dan](/source/Dan_P._Kelly), 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](/source/Tarpon_Springs%2C_Florida) and his summers on Lake Clear in [Eganville, Ontario](/source/Eganville%2C_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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hal Kelly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_Kelly) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_Kelly?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.