Kelly, John B. Sr.
Rowing
b. Oct. 4, 1889, Philadelphia, PA
d. June 26, 1960
Kelly began rowing with the Chamonix and Montrose Boat Clubs when he was eighteen and the following year, 1909, he was admitted to Philadelphia's Vesper Boat Club, the outstanding club in the country at the time.
He scored an unusual double victory two years in a row, winning the national 1/4-mile and 11/2-mile singles sculls in 1919 and 1920, and he teamed with his cousin, Paul V. Costello.
Also in 1920, he went to England to compete in the Diamond Sculls race at the Henley Regatta, but wasn't allowed to compete. The Vesper Boat Club had previously been accused of professionalism and Kelly, a bricklayer at the time, didn't meet English standards of amateurism because he worked as a laborer, which was considered to give him an advantage over "gentleman amateurs."
A few weeks afterward, Kelly won the gold medal in single sculls at the Olympics, beating Jack Beresford, who had won the Diamond Sculls competition. Thirty minutes later, he teamed with his cousin, Paul V. Costello, to win the double sculls gold medal. Kelly and Costello also won the double sculls at the 1924 Olympics.
Kelly later became a wealthy contractor. His daughter Grace starred in movies before becoming the Princess of Monaco and his son, John B. Jr., won the Diamond Sculls at Henley twice.