Bob Kelly (ice hockey, born 1950)

Robert James Kelly (born November 25, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals.

Not to be confused with Bob Kelly (ice hockey, born 1946).
Bob Kelly
Born (1950-11-25) November 25, 1950
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Philadelphia Flyers
Washington Capitals
NHL Draft 32nd overall, 1970
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 1970–1982

Career

Selected in 1970 by the Philadelphia Flyers, Kelly was an aggressive left-winger who became a member of the famous "Broad Street Bullies" and helped guide the Flyers to their two consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 1974 and 1975. Along with teammate Dave Schultz, Kelly was one of the team's top enforcers.

Kelly scored the 1975 Cup-winning goal 11 seconds into the third period of game six. In a tremendous individual effort, he stole the puck behind the Sabres' net and was able to shoot from the opposite side of the ice where the puck bounced off the post then off the goalies back and in, it is a famous goal in hockey history. Roger Crozier.[1][2]

Kelly played with the Flyers until the 1979–80 NHL season when he was traded to the Washington Capitals. He had a career year offensively in his first season with the Capitals, scoring 26 goals and 36 assists for a total of 62 points. After playing on a checking line with the Flyers, he was promoted to the Capitals' top line, alongside Jean Pronovost and Mike Gartner and proved to be an excellent complement to the two highly-skilled players, using his size to create space for them. He also played regularly on the power play for the only time of his career, scoring 8 of his career 14 power play goals that season. However, after playing 16 games during the first two months of the 1981–82 season, the Capitals and Kelly mutually agreed to terminate his contract[3] and Kelly retired.

He is now the Flyers' ambassador of hockey, visiting schools and teaching kids about the importance of teamwork. He also can be seen on the concourse of the Flyers' arena, the Wells Fargo Center, interacting with fans, and presenting awards to military guests during Flyers' home games.

Personal life

Kelly was known by several similar nicknames: "Hound Dog",[1] "the Hound",[2] "Mad Dog", "Muttley" or "Mutt", "Machine Gun Kelly", "Grass Fairy" and "Scourge of the Red Army".

Career statistics
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1968–69 Oshawa Generals OHA 54 21 23 44 128 — — — — —
1969–70 Oshawa Generals OHA 53 21 31 52 117 — — — — —
1970–71 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 76 14 18 32 70 4 1 0 1 2
1971–72 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 78 14 15 29 157 — — — — —
1972–73 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 77 10 11 21 238 11 0 1 1 8
1973–74 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 65 4 10 14 130 5 0 0 0 11
1974–75 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 67 11 18 29 99 16 3 3 6 15
1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 79 12 8 20 125 16 0 2 2 44
1976–77 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 73 22 24 46 117 10 0 1 1 18
1977–78 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 74 19 13 32 95 12 3 5 8 26
1978–79 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 77 7 31 38 132 8 1 1 2 10
1979–80 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 75 15 20 35 122 19 1 1 2 38
1980–81 Washington Capitals NHL 80 26 36 62 157 — — — — —
1981–82 Washington Capitals NHL 16 0 4 4 12 — — — — —
NHL totals 837 154 208 362 1454 101 9 14 23 172

References
  1. "1974–75 Stanley Cup Champions". Philadelphia Flyers Alumni Organization. 2006. Archived from the original on January 25, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
  2. "Flyers Heroes of the Past: Bob Kelly". Philadelphia Flyers. December 22, 2006.
  3. "The Washington Capitals announced Monday that they and winger..." UPI. December 7, 1981. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
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