 The son of Jack Kelley, another Thames waterman, Kelley's first Championship win was in 1857, when he beat James Messenger for the Championship of England.Kelley's technical abilities in a boat soon got him noticed and he was regularly referred to as the best waterman the Thames ever produced, either as an oarsman or as a judge of rowing.Before 1876, the English Sculling Championship was considered to be the premier event in professional sculling.