-- It was 1963 , and Kelly says he was coming out of the old Scandia restaurant on Sunset Blvd., where the Southern California Broadcasters used to have their regular get-togethers. Red Patterson, the Dodgers' vice president and team owner Walter O'Malley's right-hand man, approached him. "Mr. O'Malley would like a tape of your work," Patterson asked Kelly. To which Kelly responded: "Does Mr. O'Malley know that I'm on the radio Monday through Friday from 6-to-10 a.m on the Bob Crane Show?" "Yes," said Patterson. "Does Mr. O'Malley know that I'm on from 4-to-6 every Monday Through Friday doing the Elroy Hirsch Show for KNX?" "Yes," said Patterson. "Does he also know I'll be doing 12 USC football games and 30 basketball games on the radio this year?" "Yes," said Patterson. "Tell Mr. O'Malley that I'll buy him a G-- D-- radio." And Patterson walked away. Kelly wound up working at KTTV Channel 11 as the sports director, and they had a long relationship with the Dodgers. Fearing the team may someday leave the station, management had Kelly and others do a lot of Dodger-related programming in the offseason. Five years after that Kelly-Patterson encounter, Kelly found himself on a Vero Beach, Fla., golf course with O'Malley playing in a foursome that included Jerry Doggett. Kelly rode in the cart with O'Malley, who he called "the Artful Dodger." Out on the course, after several holes, "out of the clear blue," Kelly says, "O'Malley says, 'I havent' bought that G-- D--- radio.' " Kelly said nothing. O'Malley asked: "Did you really say that to Red Patterson?" Kelly: "Did Red tell you I said that?" O'Malley: "Yes." Kelly: "Has Red ever lied to you?" O'Malley: "No." Kelly: "Well, then it must be true."
Kelly adds to that story today: "I've done a lot of stupid things. But one of them that I eventually told to Vin Scully was that, 'You know, it could have been Scully and Kelly for all those years.' When I told that story at the Southern California Broadcasters Hall of Fame ceremony, Peter O'Malley was in the audience and he roared with laughter. He thanked me later for bringing up his father. And Peter knew that was a true story."

Jack Buck, the late Hall of Fame broadcaster, actualy recommended Kelly take the job at KNX-AM (1070) to do USC games after the station's program director asked Buck if he was interested in the job. Buck had just committed to doing the St. Louis Cardinals games on radio, a spot opened up when Joe Garagiola decided to leave to do a game show in New York, otherwise Buck may have ended up as the voice of USC sports. After his one year doing games as Chick Hearn's colorman, Hearn wanted to take the play-by-play job with the Lakers that had just opened up. USC had a rule enforced by athletic director Jess Hill that no broadcaster for the college could also cover a pro team. So when Hearn left, Kelly took over.
During his run covering USC sports, the Trojans had five Heisman Trophy winners and five national championships, including 14 Rose Bowls and 24 post-season games. He covered USC football, basketball, baseball, swimming, tennis and track and field as well as host the USC magazine show on FSN West. Kelly also won five Golden Mike Awards, was named California Sportscaster of the Year by both AP and UPI three times and has won five Emmy Awards, three of them for covering boxing on Prime Ticket and KCAL Channel 9.
Kelly, pictured here with Riviera friend Barry Sacks, will serve as master of ceremonies Saturday at the 16th annual Sports Legends Awards dinner that benefits spinal cord research for the Paralysis Project of America. Scully will be presented with the John R. Wooden Lifetime achievement award at the ceremony at the Omni Hotel in downtown L.A.