page_title: John B. Kelly Sr.
section_title: Later life
hierarchical_section_title: John B. Kelly Sr. / Later life
caption_attribution_description: English: Sculpture of John B. Kelly, on Kelly Drive in Philadelphia. Sculpture 1965 by Harry Rosin (1897-1973), no visible copyright notice. John B. Kelly was a 3 time Olympic gold medalist in rowing, successful Philadelphia brick layer and brick yard owner, and father of Grace Kelly, movie actress, aka Princess Grace of Monaco.
context_page_description: John Brendan Kelly Sr., known as Jack Kelly, was one of the most accomplished American competitors in the history of the sport of rowing. He was a triple Olympic champion, the first to be so in the sport of rowing. The Philadelphia-based Kelly also was a multimillionaire in the bricklaying and construction industry. He was the father of actress Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco, and of John B. Kelly Jr., an accomplished rower in his own right who served as president of the U.S. Olympic Committee.
context_section_description: Kelly was actively involved in city politics, including chairmanship of the Philadelphia County Democratic Party in 1937 and ran for mayor of Philadelphia in 1935. At the time, Philadelphia was a heavily Republican city, but he came close to winning, losing by fewer than 50,000 votes compared with the usual margin of 300,000.
  He was a commissioner and later president of the Fairmount Park Commission, which administered Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, one of the largest municipal parks in the world. In 1941, President Roosevelt named the still popular Kelly as the National Physical Fitness Director, a post he held throughout World War II. Kelly was a strong advocate for physical fitness for all Americans, and in particular those inducted into the military.
  Kelly was Commodore of the Schuylkill Navy from 1935 to 1940, and was president of the NAAO, the then governing board for U.S. rowing, from 1954 through 1955. Kelly is the only rower who is a member of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the United States Rowing Hall of Fame, having been elected in 1956 at the same time as his son Jack Jr.
  Kelly died of intestinal cancer at his home in Philadelphia, age 70.
  In 1967, Philadelphia erected a prominent statue of Kelly by artist Harry Rosin near the finish line of the Schuylkill River course that Kelly rowed. It is located just off of the scenic Kelly Drive, which is named for Kelly's son, Jack Jr. Every year, USRowing, as the governing board is now known, bestows the Jack Kelly Award on an individual who represents the ideals that Kelly exemplified, including superior achievement in rowing, service to amateur athletics and success in their chosen profession.
caption: Sculpture of Kelly in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia
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