The Early Years & College Football Playing Career

Born on 23 July, 1878 in Washington, D.C., Gilbert Walker Kelly was a college football player and later Head Coach at the University of Tennessee.

Kelly attended Eastern High School in Washington, before he was accepted to one of the most prestigious universities in the world, Princeton in 1899.

At Princeton University he played for their college football team, and after graduating took up the position of Head Coach for the Volunteers at The University of Tennessee in 1901.

Coaching History & Timeline

He was the second Head Coach at the University of Tennessee, following on from inaugural coach James Audley Pierce who left at the end of the season in 1900.

Although the football program was in its infancy at Tennessee, Pierce had started and finished strong notching wins in both seasons. This would have meant that whomever took his place most definitely had their work cut out.

Kelly’s first and last season as coach for the Volunteers began with its first match against King University on 12th October 1901. Kelly couldn’t have asked for a better start to his season with the Volunteers beating the King Tornadoes 8-0.

Kelly endured a dry spell over the next few games, with his team tying the following game against the Clemson Tigers 6-6, followed by three consecutive losses.

The first loss was against the University of Nashville which was the first away game of the season.

The Volunteers ended the match 5-16, however it was the next loss which is likely to have been more painful for Kelly and his team. This was a home game at Chilhowee Park, Knoxville against Kentucky University. The Volunteers were unable to score and lost the match 0-6.

Kelly’s third and final loss of the season was against rivals Vanderbilt, where again, his team were unable to score and were badly beaten 0-22.

Luckily, things improved and Kelly was able to guide the Volunteers to their first win since their season opener, going 12-0 against Georgetown Kentucky on their home turf.

The Volunteers won their penultimate game against Kentucky State College 5-0.

Kelly’s final game of the season, and his coaching career, came on November 28 at West End Park, Birmingham, home to The University of Alabama. The end result was a 6-6 tie, bringing an end to the season.

While the season wasn’t as successful as the previous one, Kelly’s team still finished with a winning record of 3-3-2. Unlike the previous season the University of Tennessee was as member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) and his record against SIAA teams was 1-1-2 for the season.

Life After Coaching

After Kelly’s coaching position at the University of Tennessee, he embarked on a different career path, becoming a teacher at his old high school between 1902 and 1908.

While teaching, he attended George Washington University Law school and graduated with a degree of LL.B in 1905, before becoming the principal of East Aurora High School in 1911.

Between 1917 and 1918 he was a member of Home Guard at Kenilworth in Washington, D.C. where he as involved in war drives in support of the United States.

Little is known about his latter years and time after he was in the Home Guard; Gilbert Kelly passed away in 1948 at the age of 70.