Kelley was an All-American and the captain of the Yale football team. Following his career at Yale, he signed a one-game contract with the Boston Shamrocks of the American Football League in 1937 but never played. Following his career in football, Kelley was a history teacher and alumni director at the Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey, his alma mater.[1][2] He taught algebra at Cheshire Academy and spent 12 years in the glove manufacturing industry.
The Ian Graham Athletic Center at the Peddie School holds a replica of the Heisman Trophy donated to the school by Kelley. To benefit his nieces and nephews, Kelley sold his Heisman Trophy at an auction in December 1999 for $328,110 to the owner of The Stadium Museum, Restaurant & Bar in Garrison, New York, where it now resides.[3] His health was visibly failing by then after having suffered a minor stroke and having open-heart surgery, and on June 27, 2000, Kelley died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Hightstown, ruled a suicide by the police.[1] He was 85 when he died. He was survived by his fourth wife and 18 nieces and nephews.
*Note: The 2005 Heisman Trophy was originally awarded to Reggie Bush, but Bush forfeited the award in 2010. The Heisman Trust subsequently decided to leave the 2005 award vacated.
