KELLY, Clair

KELLY, JONES, WHIPPLE, PREHN

Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 11/11/2014 at 02:52:58

The Globe Gazette
Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa
Saturday, November 02, 1940, Page 5

THEY STARTED HERE
No. 34 in a Mason City Series of Success Stories

Clair Kelly, Noted Sports Writer

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Known among boxing men every where is the name of a former Mason Cityan who has reached a prominent position among the country's sports writers, that of Clair Kelly.

For Clair Kelly in his capacity as boxing expert for the Chicago Herald-American has covered some of the biggest prize fights of the past 15 years and in so doing has won the recognition of both the boxing men and his fellow sportswriters for his keen understanding of pugilism and for his ability to write a story that carries all the punch and action of the contest to its reader.

The former Mason Cityan was born Oct. 19, 1901, at Austin, Minn., but moved here with his parents a month later when his father, Matt Kelly, came to work for the Mason City Globe-Gazette. Mr. and Mrs. Kelly still live in Mason City, making their home at 103 Louisana avenue southeast.

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So it was natural that young Clair would have a little printer's ink in his veins. He attended nearby St. Joseph's parochial school until he reached the ninth grade, when he enrolled in Mason City high school.

He early showed great interest in sports and in journalism and it was not long before he had combined the two by serving as sports editor of the Globe-Gazette whil still attending high school. In those days he was known as "Spec" a name that hsas since disappeared.

A graduate of the class of 1920, Clair Kelly went to Iowa City to attend the University of Iowa. While there he served as a correspondent for the Des Moines Register and busied himself with journalism in every way he could.

But in the spring of 1922, the young newspaperman went to the Twin Cities where he worked on the St. Paul Pioneer Press for a time. However, he felt the need for further education, so that fall he enrolled in the University of Minnesota and, true to his leanings, went to work on the Minnesota Daily.

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Then for a time Clair dropped out of school and returned to Mason City to sell insurance. His likable personality and wide-spread friendships here helped him to sell insurance for Ralph Lloyd Jones and Leslie Whipple, but his real interests were still in sports and the newspaper game.

So Clair went back to school, enrolling at Illinois University and working as sports editor and writer for the Urbana Courier in the days when Red Grange was earning his nick-name "Galloping Ghost" on the football fields of the middle west.

It was in the spring of 1926 that the youth got his big break. Paul Prehn, also a former Mason Cityan and an outstanding wrestler in his day, was then serving as wrestlingcoach at Illinois. One day in a conversation with Clair he told him that there was a position open on the Chicago American and that he had recommended the yong sports editor to fill the spot.

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With this lead Clair Kelly soon landed the job, reporting to the sports editor in time to be assigned to cover boxing. The sport had just been legalized in Illinois and the sports editor asked Clair if he could handle the job covering it.

"Well, I think so," he said. "At least I'm willing to try."

And handle it he could. His intense interest in sports had given him a pretty good working knowledge of the game. In addition to that, he had done boxing publically writing for Mike Gibbons and Mike Collins while in Minneapolis. The two men were operating a stable of boxers there at that time.

The first big fight the American's new boxing writer covered was a 10 round battle between Rocky Kansas, then champion, and Sammy Mandell for the middleweight title. Mandell won on a decision.

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And a year later Clair Kelly sat in the reflected glow of the giant ring lights in Soldier field watching the most debated fight of all time. And as Referee Dave Barry tolled the seconds over the fallen Gene Tunny his clattering typewrighter was pounding out the story of the famous "long count."

The story of that second Dempsey-Tunney fight was read by millions of Chicago and middlewestern readers the next morning. In addtion to writing the story of the fight, Clair had covered the training camps of both men.

Other big fights covered by the former Mason Cityan, both in Chicago and on out of town trips for the American, were the first Louis-Schmeling fight, the Louis-Braddock fight, the Louis-Baer contest, and the Louis-Galento fight, the Armstrong-Ambers go, and many others.

On many of the fights in Chicago, Clair Kelly's stories are used by Hearst papers in other citys for the Hearst network is well knit and co-opperates closely on such events. On such occasions, the writer of a big fight story may have millions of readers the next morning.

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But boxing is not the only activity for the former Mason Cityan. He is a good baseball writer and a keen student of the game. On occasions he covers baseball games and for one summer during the absence of one of the regular baseball men, he handled all his work.

This meant covering the training camps in California during the spring and spending a half season with both Chicago teams, the Cubs and White Sox. And it meant a good deal of traveling but it gave Mr. Kelly an opportunity to see all 16 of the big league teams in action and unabled him to know most of the major league stars first hand.

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Today Clair Kelly is covering boxing in Chicago and doing desk work - makeup and head writing - for his paper, now known as the Chicago Herald-American. He keeps on top of all boxing information and knows all there is to know about the major fighters. Most of them he knows personally and likes them as well as they like him.

And, like many other former Mason Cityans who have made good in their respective fields, Clair Kelly gives promise of rising even high. As a recognized sports authority in this modest, affable and able sports writer still has his future before him.

Photograph courtesy of Globe-Gazette

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, November of 2014

Cerro Gordo Biographies maintained by Lynn Diemer-Mathews.
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