Edmond Kelly (born October 24, 1948), nicknamed "the Silver Fox", is an Irish-American former

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player and retired college soccer coach. He played in the American Soccer League and one season in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

and earned two

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

with the U.S. national team. He was the head coach of the

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

men's varsity soccer team from 1988 to 2019.

Personal

Kelly was born in Dublin and grew up in Ireland. In 1969, he joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

, serving until 1973. He is married to high school sweetheart, Ann and they have three children, one of whom, Lauren works as a

copyright troll A copyright troll is a party (person or company) that enforces copyrights it owns for purposes of making money through strategic litigation, in a manner considered unduly aggressive or opportunistic, sometimes without producing or licensing the ...

in New York City.

Player

Professional

Kelly played professionally for eight years. In 1975, he played a single season with the

Hartford Bicentennials The Connecticut Bicentennials were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1977. Originally founded as the Hartford Bicentennials, the team relocated to New Haven, Connecticut after the 1 ...

in the

. In 1976, he played for the

Utah Golden Spikers The Utah Golden Spikers was an American soccer club based in Salt Lake City, Utah that was a member of the American Soccer League. The team became the Utah Pioneers, a new franchise with new owners, during the latter stages of their only season, ...

of the American Soccer League. In 1979, he signed with the

New Jersey Americans New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

National team

Kelly earned two

with the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT), officially recognized as USA by FIFA, represents the United States in men's international Association football, soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation, which is ...

in August 1975 at the Mexico City Cup. His first game was a 6–0 loss to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

on August 21. His second was a 2–0 loss to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

on August 24.USA – Details of International Matches 1970–1979

Coaching

Kelly served as an assistant coach with both the Rhode Island Oceaneers and

while he played for them. After retiring from playing professionally, Kelly became an assistant coach at

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University () is a private university with its main campuses in New Jersey, located in Madison / Florham Park and in Teaneck / Hackensack. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University offers more than 100 degree prog ...

. In 1985,

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

hired Kelly as its men's soccer coach. In his three years at Seton Hall, his team compiled a 40–13–3 record and Coach Kelly was named the 1986 NJSCA Division I Coach of the Year. In 1987, Kelly left Seton Hall to become head coach of the

New Jersey Eagles The New Jersey Eagles were an American soccer team founded in 1987 as the Cosmopolitan Eagles. In 1988, they entered the third American Soccer League (1988–1989), American Soccer League as the New Jersey Eagles. They folded following the 1990 ...

of the newly established American Soccer League. Kelly led the Eagles to a 15–5 record, top in the league. However, the team fell to the

Washington Diplomats The Washington Diplomats were an American soccer club representing Washington, D.C. Throughout their playing existence, the club played their home games at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and indoor home matches at the neighboring D.C. A ...

in the first round of the playoffs. In 1988, following the loss, Kelly left the Eagles to succeed

Ben Brewster Benjamin Brewster is an American retired soccer forward who earned one caps, scoring a single goal, as a member of the U.S. national team in 1973. He played three seasons in the North American Soccer League and at least two in the American S ...

as head coach at

. During his 31-year tenure at the Heights, Kelly amassed a record of 281–235–64. His 281 wins at Boston College rank him first on BC's all-time list. He compiled a career record of 321-248-70. Kelly holds a USSF National "A" Coaching License. He also coached youth soccer as the Boys Coordinator of New England Futbol Club.

References

External links

Boston College coaching profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Ed 1948 births Living people Association footballers from Dublin (city) American soccer coaches American Soccer League (1988–89) coaches American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Boston College Eagles men's soccer coaches Connecticut Bicentennials players Irish emigrants to the United States New Jersey Americans (soccer) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Rhode Island Oceaneers players Seton Hall Pirates men's soccer coaches United States men's international soccer players Utah Golden Spikers players American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Fairleigh Dickinson Knights men's soccer coaches 20th-century American sportsmen