Vic Kelley Jr., 88; Former Sports Information Director at UCLA

Vic Kelley Jr., 88, who served as UCLA sports information director for 36 years before retiring in 1981, died Wednesday of prostate cancer at a convalescent hospital in the San Fernando Valley.

Born in Muskogee, Okla., he graduated from UCLA in 1937, playing on its golf team for three years. He spent several years in the newspaper business in San Francisco and Los Angeles before returning to UCLA, where he began his long tenure as sports information director, working with basketball coach John Wooden; football coaches Tommy Prothro, Dick Vermiel and Terry Donahue; and such athletes as Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Bill Walton and Rafer Johnson. He also was golf coach from 1948-75.

Upon his retirement, Kelley served as the UCLA athletic department’s sports historian and was involved in development of its athletic hall of fame, which opened in 1984, serving as curator.