View source for Ken Shellito

{{Short description|English footballer (1940–2018)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2016}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Ken Shellito
| image = 
| full_name = 
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1940|4|18}}
| birth_place = [[East Ham]], [[London]], England
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|2018|10|31|1940|4|18}}
| death_place = [[Inanam]], [[Kota Kinabalu]], [[Sabah]], Malaysia
| height = 
| position = [[Full-back (association football)|Full-back]]
| youthyears1 = 1957–1959
| youthclubs1 = [[Chelsea F.C. Under-21s and Academy|Chelsea]]
| years1 = 1959–1965
| clubs1 = [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]]
| caps1 = 123
| goals1 = 2
| nationalyears1 = 1963
| nationalteam1 = [[England national football team|England]]
| nationalcaps1 = 1
| nationalgoals1 = 0
| manageryears1 = 1977–1978
| managerclubs1 = [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]]
| manageryears2 = 1985
| managerclubs2 = [[Cambridge United F.C.|Cambridge United]]
| manageryears3 = 1994
| managerclubs3 = [[Kuala Lumpur FA]]
| manageryears4 = 1995
| managerclubs4 = [[Perak FA]]
| manageryears5 = 1998
| managerclubs5 = [[Sabah F.C. (Malaysia)|Sabah FA]]
}}

'''Kenneth John Shellito''' (18 April 1940 – 31 October 2018) was an English [[Association football|football]] player and [[Manager (association football)|manager]] who played for Chelsea from 1959 to 1965, and subsequently managed the club from 1977 to 1978. He worked in a coaching role for the [[Asian Football Confederation]], based in [[Kuala Lumpur]], before spending his later life in [[Inanam]] of [[Sabah]] as a permanent resident.<ref name="Shellito passed away">{{cite web|url=https://www.nst.com.my/sports/football/2018/10/426797/ex-sabah-coach-ken-shellito-passes-away|title=Ex-Sabah coach Ken Shellito passes away|author=Norasikin Daineh|publisher=[[New Straits Times]]|date=31 October 2018|access-date=31 October 2018}}</ref><ref name="Shellito story">{{cite web|url=http://www.theborneopost.com/2018/11/09/shellito-true-to-chelsea-roots-as-he-passes-away-in-sabah/|title=Shellito true to Chelsea roots as he passes away in Sabah|author=Jason Dasey|publisher=[[The Borneo Post]]|date=9 November 2018|access-date=21 January 2019}}</ref>

== Professional career ==
=== Chelsea ===
Shellito spent his [[List of one-club men in association football|entire playing career]] at [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]], signing for the club from Chelsea Juniors at the age of 17 and making his professional debut two years later against [[Nottingham Forest F.C.|Nottingham Forest]].<ref name="Shellito career">{{cite web|url=https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2018/10/31/ken-shellito-1940-2018|title=Ken Shellito 1940–2018|publisher=[[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]]|date=31 October 2018|access-date=21 January 2019}}</ref> He featured in [[Tommy Docherty]]'s re-built Chelsea side of the early 1960s as an attacking full-back, helping the club win promotion from the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] in [[1962-63 in English football|1962–63]]. However, as the side began to challenge for honours Shellito suffered a serious knee injury and despite several attempted comebacks, was forced to retire prematurely.<ref name="Rowlinson2016">{{cite book|author=John Rowlinson|title=The Boys of '66 - The Unseen Story Behind England's World Cup Glory|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C2TNCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT123|date=7 April 2016|publisher=Ebury Publishing|isbn=978-0-7535-5186-8|pages=123–}}</ref>

== International career ==
Shellito made one appearance for [[England national football team|England]], against [[Czechoslovakia national football team|Czechoslovakia]] in 1963.<ref name="Shellito career"/>

== Managerial career ==
=== Chelsea ===
Upon his retirement, Shellito joined the Chelsea coaching staff and took charge of the club's youth academy in 1968. In the summer of 1977, he was appointed manager of Chelsea, succeeding his former partner at full-back, [[Eddie McCreadie]].<ref name="Shellito career"/> He managed to keep Chelsea in the First Division in [[1977-78 in English football|1977–78]], but the highlight of his tenure was a shock 4–2 win over reigning European champions [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] in the [[FA Cup]]. He left the club less than a year later, with the side at the bottom of the [[Football League First Division|First Division]] and facing [[relegation]].

=== Cambridge United ===
He was later manager of [[Cambridge United F.C.|Cambridge United]], before becoming a coach in [[Malaysia]].<ref name="Shellito story"/><ref name="Shellito career"/>

== Personal life ==
Shellito is married to a Sabahan native, Jeany Dison and have two daughters and one son.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://epaper.mmail.com.my/2018/11/01/the-blues-great-who-fell-in-love-with-sabah/|title=The Blues Great who fell in love with Sabah|publisher=[[The Malay Mail]]|date=1 November 2018|access-date=21 January 2019|quote=Shellito, 78, leaves behind wife Jeany and two daughters.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121043050/http://epaper.mmail.com.my/2018/11/01/the-blues-great-who-fell-in-love-with-sabah/|archive-date=21 January 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> One of the daughters & son is through his previous marriage in England.<ref name="Shellito story"/>

== Illness and death ==
In late 2018, Shellito was hospitalised at the [[Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kota Kinabalu|Queen Elizabeth Hospital]], [[Kota Kinabalu]] due to [[lung infection]] and [[kidney failure|kidney complication]]s. He was treated by Dr Suren and Dr Shadtha during the hospital stay. Later Shellito was discharged on 30 October to die at his home in Kampung Minintod, Inanam on 31 October.<ref name="Shellito passed away"/><ref name="Shellito story"/>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110720205113/http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-72670/TS-204360.mp3 Ken Shellito] on the Chelsea in America Celebrity Podcast ''(2009)''.

{{Chelsea F.C. managers}}
{{Cambridge United F.C. managers}}
{{Kuala Lumpur City F.C. managers}}
{{Perak F.C. managers}}
{{Sabah F.C. (Malaysia) managers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shellito, Ken}}
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:English men's footballers]]
[[Category:England men's international footballers]]
[[Category:England men's under-23 international footballers]]
[[Category:Chelsea F.C. players]]
[[Category:Chelsea F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Cambridge United F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Chelsea F.C. non-playing staff]]
[[Category:Crystal Palace F.C. non-playing staff]]
[[Category:Expatriate football managers in Malaysia]]
[[Category:Sabah F.C. (Malaysia) managers]]
[[Category:Kuala Lumpur City F.C. managers]]
[[Category:English football managers]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]
[[Category:English Football League representative players]]
[[Category:English Football League managers]]
[[Category:Men's association football fullbacks]]
[[Category:Footballers from the London Borough of Newham]]
[[Category:People from East Ham]]
[[Category:20th-century English sportsmen]]