Archibald Kelly (9 December 1921 – 15 July 2005) was a Scottish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

centre forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

. He is best remembered for his time with

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

, his goals helping the side to their first victories in both the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

. He was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Playing career

Heart of Midlothian

Kelly joined Hearts from

Arthurlie Arthurlie is an area of the town of Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, Scotland. History of Arthurlie The lands of Arthurlie were held in medieval times by the Stewart family, a branch of the noble Stewarts of Darnley. Later the lands became the prop ...

in 1942 and soon became a regular fixture in their wartime competition line-ups. Predominantly a

, although occasionally deployed at

outside left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

, he was a powerful, combative player, renowned for his bravery. A notable example of his determination occurred in a match against

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

during the 1946–47 season when, in an attempt to meet an errant cross, he collided with a goalpost at full stretch. The power of the impact shattered his

collarbone The clavicle, collarbone, or keybone is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on each side of the body. The clavicle is the ...

but also cracked the wooden goal-frame! He was also a frequent goalscorer throughout his career, with a seven-goal haul in a 10–3 defeat of

Albion Rovers Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They play in the , the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. Founded in October 1882, the club joined the Scottish Foot ...

in 1943 his most illustrious scoring feat.

Aberdeen

In December 1947, with Hearts struggling in the League, their manager Davie McLean moved to sign

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

's Scottish international forward George Hamilton, with Archie Kelly and £8,000 going to Aberdeen in recompense. Despite playing only half a season for the ''Dons'', Kelly finished the 1947–48 season as their top League scorer.Archie Kelly
AFC Heritage Trust The following season found Aberdeen battling against relegation and was also frustrating for Kelly on a personal level, as he struggled with a bad knee injury. Aberdeen's main problem was their porous defence; in contrast, with Kelly, Stan Williams,

Harry Yorston Henry Bowmaker Yorston (9 June 1929 – 17 May 1992) was a Scottish professional football player, who played for Aberdeen, and represented Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom ...

and the returning George Hamilton, they had a surplus of attacking options and when Motherwell offered £7,000 for Kelly in November 1949, Aberdeen allowed him to leave.

Motherwell

Kelly quickly settled at Motherwell and scored four times when old side Aberdeen visited

Fir Park Fir Park Stadium is a football stadium situated in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Premiership club Motherwell and was the temporary home of Gretna for the 2007–2008 SPL season. ...

later that season. Motherwell finished mid-table in 1948–49 and again the following year, however their cup form in 1950–51 was a revelation. They lost only one match en route to the

1950 Scottish League Cup final The 1950 Scottish League Cup final was played on 28 October 1950, at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the fifth Scottish League Cup competition. The final was contested by Hibernian F.C., Hibernian and Motherwell F.C., Motherwell. Mo ...

, where they would meet

Hibernian Hibernian may refer to: * Of Hibernia, Latin name for Ireland; hence ** Irish (disambiguation) Hibernian, Hibernians or The Hibernian may refer to: Sports clubs * Hibernian F.C., a Scottish football club, founded 1875 * Hibernian W.F.C., a Sc ...

at Hampden. After an evenly balanced first half, Kelly opened the scoring, although his goal owed much to a mistake by Hibs goalkeeper

Tommy Younger Thomas Younger (10 April 1930 – 13 January 1984) was a Scottish footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Hibernian, Liverpool, Falkirk, Leeds United, Stoke City and the Scotland national team. Career Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Younger si ...

. Motherwell eventually won 3–0, securing only their second national trophy. The side also reached the Scottish Cup final that year but succumbed 1–0 to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

. Motherwell made amends for their Scottish Cup final disappointment the next season, defeating

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

comprehensively by 4–0. Kelly scored the final goal in front of the biggest crowd ever recorded for a domestic club match not involving the

Old Firm The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...

Later career

Surprisingly, Motherwell suffered their first ever relegation the following year, although in an incredibly tight competition they finished only five points behind fourth-placed Hearts. Kelly was one of several big-name players to leave the club, joining perennial yo-yo team

Stirling Albion Stirling Albion Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Stirling. The club was founded in 1945 following the demise of King's Park after World War II. The club currently competes in as a member of the Scottish Profession ...

in 1953. He helped the ''Binos'' avoid relegation from the top division in 1953–54 before joining Second Division

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the , the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is The Honest Men, fro ...

in January 1955. He finished his career after a short stint with

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath () is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 1890. According to a 20 ...

References

External links

Appearances
at londonhearts.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Archie 1921 births 2005 deaths Aberdeen F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players Cowdenbeath F.C. players Men's association football forwards Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players Footballers from Glasgow Scottish Football League players Scottish men's footballers Stirling Albion F.C. players Arthurlie F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players 20th-century Scottish sportsmen