# Jack Kelley (ice hockey)

John Henry Kelley (July 10, 1927 – September 16, 2020) was an American ice hockey coach and a member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Kelley was the first general manager and head coach of the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association (WHA). During the 1972-73 season, he won the Howard Baldwin Trophy as the WHA coach of the year and also led the Whalers to the Avco World Trophy. He previously served as head coach at Boston University, leading the Terriers to back-to-back NCAA hockey championships in 1971 and 1972. In his 10-year coaching career at Boston U (1962–72), he compiled a .720 winning percentage and won six Beanpot Tournaments.
Kelley, who was born in Medford, Massachusetts, also played his college hockey at Boston U, participating in the NCAA Hockey Tournament in 1951 and 1952. At the time of his graduation, he was the school's all-time leading scorer among defensemen. He then took over as coach at Colby College in 1955. After leaving the Whalers, he later worked in the front offices of the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins. His son is television writer and producer, David E. Kelley.

## Honors

In 2010, he was elected as an inaugural inductee into the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame in the coaching category.

## Head coaching record
### College

Statistics overview :
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
| Colby Mules Independent (1955–1961) ||||||
| 1955–56 | Colby College | | | | |
| 1956–57 | Colby College | | | | |
| 1957–58 | Colby College | | | | |
| 1958–59 | Colby College | | | | |
| 1959–60 | Colby College | | | | |
| 1960–61 | Colby College | | | | |
| Colby College: | Colby College: | 73-45-3 | | | |
| Colby Mules (ECAC Hockey) (1961–1962) ||||||
| 1961–62 | Colby College | 19-6-2 | 17-1-1 | 1st | ECAC Third-place game (loss) |
| Colby College: | Colby College: | 19-6-2 | 17-1-1 | | |
| Boston University Terriers (ECAC Hockey) (1962–1972) ||||||
| 1962–63 | Boston University | 7-16-0 | 7-15-0 | 22nd | |
| 1963–64 | Boston University | 9-13-0 | 9-12-0 | 20th | |
| 1964–65 | Boston University | 25-6-0 | 15-3-0 | 1st | ECAC Third-place game (win) |
| 1965–66 | Boston University | 27-8-0 | 17-2-0 | 2nd | NCAA consolation game (loss) |
| 1966–67 | Boston University | 25-5-1 | 19-0-1 | 1st | NCAA runner-up |
| 1967–68 | Boston University | 20-9-3 | 13-6-2 | 5th | ECAC Third-place game (loss) |
| 1968–69 | Boston University | 19-10-1 | 13-8-0 | 6th | ECAC Third-place game (loss) |
| 1969–70 | Boston University | 20-7-0 | 17-5-0 | 3rd | ECAC Third-place game (win) |
| 1970–71 | Boston University | 28-2-1 | 18-1-1 | 1st | NCAA national champion |
| 1971–72 | Boston University | 26-4-1 | 15-4-1 | 3rd | NCAA national champion |
| Boston University: | Boston University: | 206-80-7 | 143-56-5 | | |
| Colby Mules (ECAC 2) (1976–1977) ||||||
| 1976–77 | Colby College | 8-16-0 | 5-16-0 | | |
| Colby College: | Colby College: | 8-16-0 | 5-16-0 | | |
| Total: | Total: | 306-147-12 | | | |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||

### WHA

| Team | Year | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Post season |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | T | Pts | Division rank | Result |
| New England Whalers | 1972–73 | 78 | 46 | 10 | 2 | 94 | 1st in East | Won Avco Cup |
| New England Whalers | 1974–75 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1st in East | Lost in Quarterfinals |
| New England Whalers | 1975–76 | 33 | 14 | 16 | 3 | 31 | 3rd in East | Resigned |
| WHA Totals | WHA Totals | 116 | 63 | 48 | 5 |