Kanaly was born in Glastonbury, Connecticut, but grew up in Lawrence, Massachusetts after his father, a woolen mill executive, got a job there.

When Brown took over management of the Boston Arena in 1921, Kanaly succeeded him as athletic director of the B.A.A..

[2] When the club reopened, Kanaly served as its secretary, a position he held until he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in 1951.

[3] On January 30, 1945, Kanaly canceled a basketball game between Brooklyn College and the University of Akron after Kings County prosecutors announced that five Brooklyn players had admitted to accepting money to throw the game.

[2] In 1924, Kanaly was in charge of the United States Olympic Committee's attaché office in Paris.