S'ports Ball 2000

Red Kelly - Keynote Speaker

Leonard "Red" Kelly was raised in Simcoe, Ontario, became a defenseman with the Detroit Red Wings in the 1950's, won four Stanley Cup championships, eight League Championships and was elected to eight All Star Teams. He won the Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemanly play three times and was the first recipient of the Norris Trophy for best defenseman.

In the 1960's, Red  played forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs and won four more Stanley Cups, another Lady Byng Trophy and the Lady Bickle award. He was elected and served two terms as a Member of Parliament (MP) and represented the Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Lester B. Pearson at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the World Congress on Recreation in Osaka.

Following the NHL expansion, Red became the first coach of the Los Angeles Kings, winning the Sportsman's Award, "Athlete of the Half Century".

In 1969, he was elected to the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame and was named NHL Coach of the Year. He spent four years as coach and general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins and subsequently coached the Toronto Maple Leafs for four years.

Red was elected to the Canada Sports Hall of Fame, the Detroit Red Wings Hockey hall of Fame and was also honoured with the Encyclopedia Britannica's "Achievement in Life Award" for Achievement in Sports and the Canadian Society of New York Sports Award.

After retiring from hockey, he enjoyed a successful business career for 20 years. He founded and was president of CAMP Systems of Canada, a computerized aircraft maintenance company from 1977- 1997.

Red and his wife Andra McLaughlin Kelly, a former World Free Skating Champion, currently reside in Toronto.