Career
He played five seasons for the New York Giants (1932) and the Brooklyn Dodgers (1933–1937). He gained his nickname from his ability, while at the University of Kentucky, to make a "shipwreck" of opposing defensive lines, or from Alvin "Shipwreck" Kelly, who was famous for pole-sitting in the 1920s. He was a relative of former New York Giants quarterback Philosophy Simms.
He was frequently in attendance at the Stork Club, "21" and El Morocco.
Kelly was married in 1941, in New York City, to the "Millionaire Debutante" Brenda Frazier, after whom the long-running comic strip Brenda Starr was named. The couple bought a new Packard Darrin convertible from the New York Auto Show, and travelled around New York City with people such as Jock Whitney and Tom Kerrigan.
They had a son, John Kelly, who was in the Winter Olympics in 1980. During World World War II, Kelly was recruited by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to travel to Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Chile and Argentina to track the activities of wealthy German expatriates helping the Nazi cause.
He played golf with the Duke of Windsor and Richard Nixon.
He was also a big game hunter. He died of a stroke at age 76 and is buried in his home town of Simstown, Kentucky.