The Flyers announced their finalists for the team’s Hall of Fame and have settled on six worthy candidates: Lou Nolan, Simon Gagne, Mark Recchi, Paul Holmgren, Rick Tocchet, and Bob “The Hound” Kelly. These candidates represent a wide range of the team’s history, from the Broad Street Bullies to the 2000s era Flyers. In the case of Lou Nolan, they have chosen to honor someone who has thrilled thousands of fans with his in-arena announcing and iconic Peco Power Play Call. They are all deserving of this honor but unfortunately only one can be honored this season.
One player that I believe should be inducted this year will not appear on the all-time team record books like Gagne or Recchi but he is etched into Flyers history as a member of the Stanley Cup Winning Bullies teams, Bob “The Hound” Kelly. Kelly has been involved with the Flyers organization for nearly 50 years and has shown no signs of stopping. The Hound has embraced Philadelphia and is a perfect representation of how close knit the Flyers family stays.
Bob Kelly was the 32nd overall pick for the Flyers in the 1970 draft.
He spent 10 of his 12 NHL seasons as a winger with the team before finishing his career with the Washington Capitals. He was known for his toughness on the ice and his willingness to be an enforcer, accruing nearly 1500 penalty minutes in his career. His biggest goal in a Flyers uniform came in the final 11 seconds of Game 6 in the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals. Kelly was able to steal the puck behind the Buffalo Sabres net and tuck home the Cup winning goal. This sealed back-to-back championships for the team as they won the series 4-2.
Following his retirement, Kelly has remained active with the team in a variety of capacities. He can be found at nearly every home game greeting fans and signing autographs with some of his Bullies era teammates. He also serves on the Alumni Executive Board, an organization that contributes heavily to charities in the area by arranging scrimmage games against teams. They recently played the Philadelphia Warriors and honored Military Veterans who have served our nation. Kelly can also be seen on screen at the games presenting awards and jerseys to honorees from various fields such as first responders and active or retired veterans.
While some of the other candidates have higher career numbers than Kelly, none have provided nearly 50 years of service to the organization. At the age of 70, Kelly deserves to see his name in the rafters next to his other honored teammates. I believe that all six candidates deserve to join him in this honor but that this season is the chance to honor Bob Kelly while he is still active and working with the team.
