John Kellison

John Snowden Kellison (November 3, 1886 – May 7, 1971) was a professional football player in the National Football League with the Canton Bulldogs and the Toledo Maroons. He also was an athletic director at Marietta College as well as Washington & Jefferson College. He later became the head coach for William and Mary's football and basketball teams. In the 1940s he was an assistant coach, under Greasy Neale, for the Philadelphia Eagles.

John Kellison

Photo taken while serving as the athletic director at Marietta College
Biographical details
Born	November 3, 1886 Buckeye, West Virginia, U.S.
Died	May 7, 1971(1971-05-07) (aged 84) Marlinton, West Virginia, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1914–1915	West Virginia Wesleyan
1915–1921	Canton Bulldogs
1922	Toledo Maroons
Position(s)	Center, tackle
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1916–1917	West Virginia Wesleyan (assistant)
1919	Wheeling HS (WV)
1921–1922	Washington & Jefferson (assistant)
1923–1928	Virginia (assistant)
1929–1930	William & Mary (line)
1931–1934	William & Mary
1939	Richmond (assistant)
1940	VPI (assistant)
1941–1950	Philadelphia Eagles (assistant)
1952	Washington and Lee (assistant)
1955	Chicago Cardinals (line)
1956	Chicago Cardinals (assistant)
Basketball
1929–1934	William & Mary
1937–1939	William & Mary
Baseball
1921	Marietta
1931–1934	William & Mary
1938	William & Mary
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1920–1921	Marietta
1921–?	Washington & Jefferson
Head coaching record
Overall	21–17–2 (college football) 71–52 (college basketball) 63–34 (college baseball)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football 2 Virginia Conference (1933–1934) Basketball 4 Virginia Conference (1930–1933)

Playing career

John joined the Bulldogs in 1915 along with Greasy Neale, whom Kellison served under as an assistant coach at West Virginia Wesleyan.^[1] When Neale and Kellison first played with Bulldogs, they assumed aliases for fear they’d be fired from their coaching jobs if it came out they were involved with pro football - at the time, most college presidents looked down upon the professional game. So for their first few years with the Bulldogs, Kellison took the name "Keller", while Neale took the name "Foster". When a delegation from West Virginia Wesleyan made surprise visit to a Bulldogs game in 1916 to investigate allegations of college football personnel playing professionally, Neale, Kellison and Pete Calac all got wind of the news and briefly left the team.^[2]

During his time in Canton Kellison and the Bulldogs won three Ohio League championships, in 1916, 1917 and 1919.

Coaching and administrative career

After his playing days, Kellison became the athletic director at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio. He resigned from the position at Marietta to become the athletic director at Washington & Jefferson College in 1921.^[3] He later became the head coach for the William & Mary Tribe men's basketball team from 1929 to 1934 and again from 1937 to 1939.^[4]

Kellison was also the head coach for the William & Mary football team from 1931 to 1934, compiling a 21–17–2 record.^[5] In 1942 John was made an assistant coach, by Neale, for the Philadelphia Eagles.^[6] He was fired along with Neale after the 1950 season.^[7] Kellison became an assistant football coach for Washington & Lee in 1952.^[7]

Head coaching record

Football

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
William & Mary Indians (Virginia Conference) (1931–1934)
1931	William & Mary	5–2–2	4–1	2nd
1932	William & Mary	8–4	4–1	2nd
1933	William & Mary	6–5	2–1	T–1st
1934	William & Mary	2–6	2–1	T–1st
William & Mary:		21–17–2	12–4
Total:		21–17–2
National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

Basketball

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
William & Mary Indians (Virginia Conference) (1929–1934)
1929–30	William & Mary	17–6	11–1	1st
1930–31	William & Mary	13–4	10–1	1st
1931–32	William & Mary	13–6	11–1	1st
1932–33	William & Mary	13–5	11–0	1st
1933–34	William & Mary	4–9	2–4
William & Mary Indians (Southern Conference) (1937–1939)
1937–38	William & Mary	2–10	0–9	15th
1938–39	William & Mary	9–12	4–9	12th
William & Mary:		71–52	49–25
Total:		71–52
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

References

1. Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football, page 55. Accessed May 18, 2009.
2. The Name Game Archived August 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine The Sporting News. November 1, 1999.
3. Athletic Director Appointed New York Times. March 15, 1921.
4. William & Mary men's basketball history – Media Guide 2007–2008 Archived May 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed March 24, 2008.
5. William & Mary football history – Media Guide 2007 Archived July 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, page 22. Accessed March 26, 2008.
6. “This Young Kid from Down South”: Bert Milling Archived November 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, page 18. Accessed May 18, 2009.
7. "Bill McCann Named W&L Basketball Coach, John Kellison to Serve as Grid Assistant". The Free Lance-Star. April 26, 1952. Retrieved August 24, 2012.

External links

• Career statistics from Pro Football Reference
• John Kellison at Find a Grave