Kelsey grew up in Elmhurst, Illinois and graduated from Hamilton College in upstate New York where lettered in hockey.
 
In the late 1940s, he started youth hockey programs on the outdoor rink near Lakewood School. In the early 1960s, he was instrumental in building the Madison Ice Arena now known as Hartmeyer Arena. This arena was a prime factor in the re birth of varsity hockey at the University of Wisconsin. Kelsey was also instrumental in starting the Madison Blue Line Club in 1963.
 
Kelsey was a promoter of hockey in Madison and throughout the country. He was the publisher of the Hockey magazine that eventually evolved into the USA Hockey magazine of today.