Red Kellys Drink Token

[mick56]

Red Kelly's Drink Token

Found this token near an old bar in Central WI that burned down around 1952. Trying to found out the city the token is from. After much internet searching, I have only found that address in Chicago. My search has shown that address had a bar in the early 1980's called Mollys Follys, and before that the bar was called K's on Klark. Would anyone have any info on Red Kelly's? The token is about the size of a quarter, and is brass.

 

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[ClonedSIM]

Re: Red Kelly's Drink Token

Don't forget that street names can change. Might want to cross reference the bar with Martin Luther King Jr. St, Kennedy Rd, etc....

 

[DaChief]

Re: Red Kelly's Drink Token

Found a link to an old EBAY listing that would confirm your token is from Chicago. There was a 5 cent version of the token on EBAY in the past but the link is dead. The link listing on Google reads as follows.

"Exonumia items on eBay.com
ANTIQUE CHICAGO IL RED KELLY'S COCKTAIL LOUNGE 5C TOKEN. Buy It Now or Best Offer, $4.99, Brecks17's Antiques and Sportscards ...
coins.search.ebay.com/cocktail_Coins-Paper-Money_W0QQsacatZ11116 - 68k - Cached - Similar pages"

I clicked on the Cached Page link which will usually pull up the page even when it is expired on EBAY and no luck. Obviously the 5 cent version didn't have the street address as yours did but it did have Chicago IL on it which when you put them together would confirm that you are right about your Chicago thoughts.

You can probably find your answer in an old Chicago City Directory which is most likely available in a public library there. You may get some help by calling a public library there and asking for a volunteer or employee there to look it up in an old city directory maybe back in the early 1900's. They could copy and fax you the page.

Good luck and good find. 25 cents was a lot of drink back then!!

I am adding this found after I made the first part of this post. There was a Red Kelly that played for the Chicago White Sox in 1910. Is is possible that he left the bigs and opened a Cocktail Lounge. The period in time is a match. I would look in a Chicago City Directory around 1915 to see what you can find for Red Kelly. Here is a link to a short bio I found on him.

http://www.sportspool.com/baseball/players/K/kellyre01.php

 

[jimmy muskoka]

Re: Red Kelly's Drink Token

There used to be a man of that name who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team back in the 60's. He went off and got himself elected to the Canadian Parliament while still playing hockey. I don't know if he ever had a bar though. I think that would be about the time that the players would have started franchising and investing their exorbitant $50,000.00 salaries. He played from 1947 to 1967 and then went on to coach The L.A. Kings, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Maybe Red and one of the Black Hawks owned a bar together in Chicago??

 

[ecodoc]

Just read your 2008 post.
The drink token you have is from my uncle's club, Red Kelly's, located at 2568 North Clark St. in Chicago. The Lounge was first opened in the late 1930s, and after WW 2 began, it became a very busy place. 'Red" Kelly soon opened a second club, a few blocks away, also called Red Kelly's, at 605 Diversey Pkwy. He would go on to open several more in the Chicago area, at one time operating six. The Clark Street lounge closed around 1960. He was NOT the baseball player with the White Sox. "Red" Kelly died in 1980 in California.

 

[Mackaydon]

ecodoc,
Welcome to Treasure Net !!
Great history contribution !!
Here's one up for sale right now:Uncat. Red Kelly's Lounge,Chicago,Illinois 25c Token | eBay
Don.....

 

[nhbenz]

Wow, yes, thanks Ecodoc! We love solving these little mysteries, and glad we can call this another one solved.
-Best regards. Come back and stay a while!

 

[idahotokens]

Great info, ecodoc! There is a 5¢ token from Red Kelly's at 605 Diversy Pky. listed in Vacketta's Trade Tokens of IL book. With your permission, Mick, I'll post this token photo to Richard's Token Database - TokenCatalog.com, and after that, with your permission ecodoc, I'll post the attribution info you provided. What was Kelly's first name, assuming Red was a nickname. Thanks!
John in the Great 208