[3] Kelly and his brothers were educated at St Joseph's College, Dumfries, a fee-paying school opened to develop a professional Catholic middle class in Scotland.
Although Celtic's performances were generally poor at this time, Kelly's value as a legislator was quickly realised, and he was elected as president of the Scottish Football League in 1950.
[13] He had a close working relationship at Celtic with manager Jimmy McGrory, and indeed had the final say on team selection in most instances.
[14] In 1960, Kelly was elected as president of the SFA, and his tenure in that role coincided with an upturn in Scotland's football success.
[1][8] He expressed strong views on a variety of footballing matters, opposing the live television coverage of matches, due to concern that the fees obtained would not compensate for loss of atmosphere within the ground.
[8] He was, however, dismissive of the World Cup, stating regarding the 1962 tournament in Chile – "I can see no sense in playing... [in]... a remote country in which I understand it takes one year to become acclimatised.
[17][18] In season 1966–1967 Celtic won all four domestic competitions, and also became the first non-Latin club to win the European Cup, defeating Inter Milan 2–1 in Lisbon.
[19] Many of the Lisbon Lions players were 'Kelly Babes' who had been with the club for several years, though it took the appointment of Stein for their potential to be effectively honed.