Donaldson Naylor Kelly coached lacrosse at Washington College for 21 years, 1957-77.
He won 165 games in a time when the Shoremen played the top teams in the nation. His 1961 team captured the Middle Atlantic crown and from 1963-69 his teams went undefeated in the South Atlantic Division, winning 26 straight games, and capturing seven consecutive Strobahr trophies.
Twice his teams defeated the University of Virginia (1959 and 1964) and in 1976 he sprang the upset of the year, ambushing national champion Johns Hopkins University at Chestertown He was named USILA Coach of the Year in 1966. The next year his team finished 11-1, losing only to Hopkins, 10-6, and was ranked fifth nationally.
When intercollegiate lacrosse split into divisions in 1972, Don Kelly took Washington College into the college division tournament each year and to the finals three times.
Kelly’s teams mirrored his own playing style; finesse stick work, isolations, fast break lacrosse. He was one of Johns Hopkins University’s greatest lacrosse players and athletes. Three times he was named first team All-American at attack, the other year – second team. He earned 11 varsity letters Homewood, also playing football and basketball, and would have won a twelfth, but none was awarded for freshman football.
