True to his nickname, Bob "The Hound" Kelly has brought his relentless passion for the Philadelphia Flyers and the fans of the Delaware Valley to the organization for more than 50 years.
As a player, Kelly was a sparkplug in the Flyers' championship engine. He bounded across the ice after the scent of the rubber disc like an unchained bloodhound, throwing his body around with abandon. A consummate team player, Kelly did whatever it took to win. He’d be the first in line to fight to defend a teammate. He’d sacrifice offense for defense. He’d chip in timely goals.
Off the ice, Kelly’s good-natured sense of humor and outgoing personality made him a favorite of teammates and fans alike. Since 2003, Kelly has been the Flyers' Ambassador of Hockey throughout the Delaware Valley. As the longest-tenured face of the Flyers Community staff, Kelly has brought and promoted the organization -- and the sport of hockey in general -- to fans of all ages. He's been vital to countless youth hockey clinics, year-round community programs, school program visits stretching throughout the Delaware Valley, honoring community heroes and local military veterans, and steering the Flyers Alumni Fantasy Camp for a decade.
Kelly, who is retiring at the end of the 2024-25 season, has always much preferred to keep the focus on the Flyers. Going back to his playing days, he's never liked to call attention upon himself. Now it's the Flyers turn to honor the Hound. On Saturday afternoon, prior to the matinee matchup with the Buffalo Sabres at Wells Fargo Center, the organization and the fans will thank Kelly for his half-century of service to the organization and within the community.
Kelly, of course, sporting uniform no. 9 throughout his NHL playing career with the Flyers, has remained a fixture on the Flyers Alumni team. Here are nine facts about Bob Kelly, on and off the ice.
1. Small-town roots: Robert James Kelly was born in Port Credit, Ontario, on November 25, 1950. Kelly says he grew up “in a small family living in a small town.” He has one sister, Jo Anne. Like many Canadian boys, Kelly started skating and playing hockey at a young age and the rink has always been his home away from home.
2. Flyers-Generals linkage: Kelly played his junior hockey for the Oshawa Generals (now of the Ontario Hockey League, then called the Ontario Hockey Association). Through the years, the Flyers have drafted 10 players from the Generals, including Scott Laughton, Rick St. Croix, Gord Murphy and John Stevens. Hockey of Famer Eric Lindros is not included on the list because he was originally drafted from Oshawa by the Quebec Nordiques. Oshawa and the Western League's Brandon Wheat Kings have each had 10 players drafted by the Flyers.
3. Before the Broad Street Bullies: Even on a tough Generals club featuring the likes of future NHL pugilists Terry O’Reilly and Bob Stewart, few opponents considered fighting Kelly a better alternative. In his rookie year with Oshawa during 1968-69, Kelly posted 128 penalty minutes in addition to 21 goals and 44 points in 54 games. In 1970, the Flyers selected Kelly in the third round (32nd overall) of the NHL Amateur Draft.
4. Surprise rookie regular: Gruff Flyers coach Vic Stasiuk took an immediate liking to Kelly's tenacity at the team's 1970 training camp. Not only did Kelly defy expectations, by earning a spot on the NHL roster directly out of camp, Kelly dressed in 76 regular season games and four playoff tilts. Frequently, during his rookie year, Kelly played on left wing of the line centered by fast-rising star center Bobby Clarke.
5. Rare accomplishment: Kelly is one of a very small percentage of non-star NHL players who never spent time in minor league hockey during his professional career. Kelly played exclusively in the NHL after turning pro: 837 regular season games and 101 matches in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
6. Wounded warrior: Kelly was a mainstay role player on the Flyers' Stanley Cup championship winning teams of 1973-74 and 1974-75. However, during the 1974 Stanley Cup semifinals against the New York Rangers, Kelly suffered a season-ending knee injury from a hip check by defenseman Ron Harris. Kelly was unable to play in the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins. That made what happened the very next spring even sweeter for the Hound and his teammates.
7. Cup-winning goal: The Flyers played the Sabres in the 1975 Stanley Cup Final. With the Flyers leading the series, three games to two, Game Six was played at the Aud in Buffalo on May 27. Entering the third period. The game was scoreless. In the opening minute of the third period, Kelly stepped out from behind the net and backhanded a shot past goalie Roger Crozier. The Flyers went on to win, 2-0. Only Bob Kelly and the late Rick MacLeish hold the distinction of scoring a Stanley Cup clinching goal for the Flyers.
8. KGB Line and the streak team: In the late 1970s, Flyers head coach Pat Quinn placed Kelly on the left wing of a highly effective checking trio with Mel Bridgman at center and 21-year-old Tom"T.J." Gorence on the right wing. The unit came to be known as the KGB line. The next year, Kelly was a veteran leader on the Flyers team that set a North American pro sports record with a 35-game unbeaten streak. The Flyers advanced to the 1980 Stanley Cup Final -- the fourth Flyers' team to reach the Final during Kelly's career -- before falling to the New York Islanders. It was Kelly's final season playing for the Flyers.
9. Landmark "second shift": After his playing days with the Flyers and Washington Capitals, Kelly embarked on various business ventures but inevitably returned to the place dearest to his heart. Over the last quarter century, both with the Flyers Alumni Association and the Flyers Community department, Kelly has been a fixture in helping improve the quality of like for hockey fans and non-fans alike. He's been been directly involved in a host of charity and community-based initiatives that have raised millions of dollars that stay in the Delaware Valley. As Flyers Hall of Famer Paul Holmgren said of Kelly's legacy to late Hockey Hall of Fame writer Jay Greenberg, "I'd say Hound has had two pretty darn good shifts for the Flyers."
