[1] His father died when Kelly was sixteen and he helped his mother raise his three brothers and sister.
After graduating from Saint Patrick's in 1939, he became an English-language newscaster at CKCH, a bilingual radio station in Hull, Ontario.
[3] 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.
[6] 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.
[2] Following his retirement, he spent his winters in Tarpon Springs, Florida and his summers on Lake Clear in Eganville, Ontario.