Abington has stood across the field from Whitman-Hanson on Thanksgiving morning 112 times, and Green Wave Head Coach has been on the field for 56 of those matchups as a player, assistant coach, and head coach. The 2023 meeting of these ancient foes marks the final time Kelliher will lead the Green Wave football team onto the field. Kelliher who is believed to be the only Massachusetts football coach to lead the same program for 50 years, will step into retirement after the game with more than 500 games until his belt, more than 300 wins, and five state champonship rings. Abington News spoke with some former players, coaches, and colleagues to get their thoughts on the legacy Kelliher, a member of the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame, is leaving behind.
Kelliher grew up in Abington as one of 10 kids raised by Joseph and Sophie Kelliher. When he graduated Abington High School in 1966, one of his teammates was Bob Bancroft, who would go on to become the longtime head football coach at Whitman-Hanson, and a fellow Massachusetts Football Coaches Hall of Fame inductee.
BOB BANCROFT — I have to go back to his work ethic. It goes back to when he was a kid in high school. His father owned an oil company and asphalt company. When we were finishing up practice during the early part of the season and hanging out, he was out working for his dad with the asphalt company. He always had a real great work ethic.
In high school he was maybe 165 pounds. We played defensive end. With his tenacity and toughness he could just out play people bigger than him. He got a lot bigger when he went out to Amherst.
Kelliher was a walk-on for the UMass-Amherst football team, packed size onto his frame, and became first team All-East and All-Yankee Conference as a guard. He earned himself a tryout with the New York Giants, but walked out the day before his first exhibition game to come home to Abington and take a teaching job. He became head coach in 1973.
NICK LIQUORI (Current Rockland High School football coach) — Standing across the field, he has an intimidating stature (if you didn’t know him), but one thing is for certain: Coach and all of his assistants were prepared and had his teams motivated! Not that Rockland/Abington needed any motivation. We had to prepare for 48 minutes of nonstop toughness, which is hard to simulate in practice.
BOB BANCROFT — He made me work the hardest in preparation than any coach we went up against. You knew he was going to know us well, that he’d study us and scout us. We knew we’d have to do a couple things differently. Although our school was a lot bigger, and we had that distinct advantage, I knew Jim would want to try and outwork me.
WILL KLEIN (Former player, member of 2019 Super Bowl team) — What players really respect about him was the preparation, even after 50 years. He also treats every player the same way. He’d also be out before everyone at practice getting the pads ready. And he was really intense.
Always a fiery and demanding coach, Kelliher is beloved by his former players for the life lessons he instilled. Over the years, his coaching staff grew, the wins piled up, and Kelliher was able to spend more energy working directly with players.
ED REILLY (former player, current assistant coach) — I think he did a great job adapting over time to the changes in the game but also constantly always looking to improve, whether it’s by going to clinics or camps and being open to new ideas.
STEVE MAGUIRE (Former player, Class of ’87, father of former players, Jack ’18, and Matt ’21) I think back to when I played for him and it was such as different time of coaching, the lack of film work and working out. He was really strict. Over time he still held kids accountable but did it in more of a fatherly way, where he was still strict but with his arm around you.
BOB BANCROFT — I won’t say he changed, but over the years he relied more on his assistants, which gave him more contact with the kids. Earlier in his career he was so busy trying to control everything, and as he got assistants, it allowed him to be closer to the players.
STEVE MAGUIRE — Everything he did, thinking about as a player and a parent now that I’ve been on both sides of it, we knew whatever he was doing, or asking you to do, would make you not only a better player but a better person. He was coaching to make you a better person going through life. Football is where you’re one of 11 and if you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing, it doesn’t work. Understanding that not everyone gets their name in the paper, but the guys who don’t get their name in the paper are the reasons the team won.
WILL KLEIN — Pregame he could always get us right with what he said to us. He’s just a guy for who you can’t play anything less than your best ability.
PETER SERINO (Abington High School Athletic Director, head boys basketball coach) — Coach Kelliher has been such a successful coach because of how much he cares about his kids and their families. Above all else he cares about each of the students as people, and pushes them to be better in every possible way. If you are a talented player, or someone who does not see the field he demands you act like a gentleman and are respectful. This standard has created a culture of accountability that has translated to success on the field quite often, but always success off the field which far exceeds the on field accolades. You can see the foundation that he has built in many of his former players who have gone on to be successful in all aspects of society and each credit Coach for helping instill the successful characteristics in them.
KEVIN WHALEN (Former player, longtime game announcer) — I think the key to coach Kell’s success is his relationship with the kids. He is all about the kids being successful on and off the field. It shows in how many former players come back to coach for him.
ED REILLY — I certainly learned a lot about football and coaching from him over the years, but I learned so much more about life in general. He was like a second father but also a great friend. The way he carries himself on a daily basis and he’s a true gentleman. Guys like him don’t come around much anymore.
SHAWN REILLY (longtime game announcer, AHS Hall of Fame Nominating Committee) — Jim Kelliher always gave his all to “his kids”, and never looked for public thanks or credit. He’s not just a coach, but to many former players, he has offered himself as a lifelong mentor or as a father figure. I can’t tell you all of the stories about his sincere concern and determination that these young high school boys would mature to become responsible young men.
KEVIN WHALEN — Kell is a straight-forward guy and the kids appreciate that honesty.
A common theme is the way Kelliher led by example, recognizing what the bigger lessons are, and his preference for making an impact quietly. When his players are being inducted into the National Honor Society, for example, he can be found standing in the back of the room watching proudly. Bancroft told a story about when Whitman-Hanson dedicated their field to Dennis O’Brien, an assistant coach who was struck and killed by lightning during a practice in 1978.
BOB BANCROFT — He said even if we win tomorrow, you can take the trophy home. That’s the kind of friendship we had.
PETER SERINO — There are countless lessons that can be learned from Coach Kel’s career for other coaches. I am extremely fortunate to have learned from him throughout my entire career, and even this week I am still learning form him every day. The grace and humility that he leads his program with is remarkable. He has an unmatched perspective and understanding of how to get the best of out kids. It is rooted in his compassion for his student athletes, and assistant coaches. Coach always does the duties that do not bring the glory – sweeping the locker room, inventorying equipment and all of the other mundane tasks – he leads by example.
STEVE MAGUIRE — It’s not easy to find a human like him. Regardless of his age he was relatable. He found some way to connect with every kid on that team. Whether you’re the star player or the 60th kid on the bench, he appreciated you being there and treated you like one of his own.
SHAWN REILLY — Many do not know of his quiet acts of compassion and generosity, especially to his student-athletes who may have been experiencing difficult family lives: making sure one of his players always had a ride to school so he would arrive on time, get an education, and learn to be responsible; hosting a player at the Kelliher home each night for dinner while the student’s parents were away for a few weeks, in order to ensure that the student was eating healthy food in their absence; being the first to arrive on a family’s doorstep in times of distress or tragedy, while also being the first to celebrate a player’s personal success or a milestone which might otherwise go unnoticed by others.
PETER SCHAFER (Abington Schools Superintendent) — The key to Coach Kelliher’s success has been his focus on doing what’s best for student athletes before all else. Remarkably, the players on the first Abington Football team Jimmy Kelliher coached are now in their mid to late 60s. More important than any number of wins or championships over the years, and there have been many wins and championships, Jimmy has helped shape and mold a better and brighter future for thousands of individuals on and off the playing field. That’s like winning the Superbowl 50 times in 50 years.
STEVE MAGUIRE — I think as he went through his coaching career he started realizing what you have now is great and it doesn’t last forever. This final season hes seemed to really embrace every moment. I’ve seen him a couple of times standing over to the side just kind of taking it all in.
SHAWN REILLY — The legacy of his coaching extends far beyond the gridiron of Memorial Field, and his kindness and generosity set examples for thousands of former players to emulate and pass on to others for many years to come.
ED REILLY — The wins and championships are great but his legacy will be with all the players that were lucky enough to have played for him. We all have a great deal of gratitude and we all are incredibly lucky to have learned so much from him. He’s made so many of us a better person just by watching him and being near him. That’s his legacy in my eyes.
WILL KLEIN — He’s always been there. You can’t even imagine Abington football without him. Coach Kels is the figure you need on the sidelines. He’s the cement. He’s the guy everyone truly truly plays for.
STEVE MAGUIRE — We’re just so fortunate. To have someone in the same place for 50 years is incredible.
You must be logged in to post a comment.