JOHNNY KELLY, one of the most enthusiastic footballers of all time, has died at the age of 79. He was a left-winger of the old school: fast, tricky, possessed of a powerful shot that seemed improbable given his slight build.

His was a career retrieved from early adversity. He had signed for Celtic in 1938 from his local junior side, Arthurlie - for all through his life he was a Barr-head man. The outbreak of war resulted in the cancellation of all professional contracts and Johnny Kelly could easily have disappeared as reserve teams were disbanded and Celtic in particular went into a twilight haze that would last for six years.

He had the sense to realise that he had to get out and in 1941 he moved to Morton. The Greenock side was thriving during the war. The shipyards were at full blast and there was money in the town. He had the advantage of playing with inside-forwards of the calibre of Billy Steel and Tommy Orr and even, on one or two occasions, with Sir Stanley Matthews and Tommy Lawton, who guested periodically for Morton.

His good performances were recognised by a wartime cap against England at Hampden in April 1945. It was a grim baptism, for England won 6-1 and the leading contributors to the Scottish downfall were that very same Matthews and Lawton. In November of the same year, however, he was transferred to Barnsley. From my point of view, as a boy, he was transferred a week too late, for in his last game as a Morton player they had met Queen's Park at Hampden. Three down after half an hour, Queen's had got it back to 3-3 with five minutes to go and they were a powerful side. The tide of the match was flowing strongly their way when Johnny Kelly got the ball far out left, cut in, and sent in a drive which lodged in the stanchion 6ft or so off the ground.

His time at Barnsley was notable for the Oakwell crowd's appreciation of his individual skills, skills not lacking in the Barnsley side which included Danny Blanchflower and Jimmy Baxter at wing-half, Blanchflower the artist, Baxter the driver. Upfront, young Tommy Taylor might have become a legendary England player had he not been killed in the Munich disaster.

Johnny Kelly's chances of frequent caps were slender since he had the bad luck to be a contemporary of Billy Liddell but he did play against Wales and Northern Ireland in 1949. With the present crippling shortage of natural left-sided Scottish players it is odd to reflect how well provided we then were.

He came back to Falkirk in 1953 and followed this with a second tour of duty at Cappielow. He went south again to try his luck with Halifax Town but the pace had gone and he was happy enough to play out time with Portadown in the Irish league.

Johnny Kelly regarded it as a winger's duty to entertain. This meant beating full-backs and establishing ascendancy over them. He had no greater

admirer than Michael Parkinson who swore that Alf Ramsey decided to do without wingers after being repeatedly turned over by Johnny.

During the war he could be seen on Sunday mornings in the Cowan Park, Barrhead, taking part in bounce games with the local fire brigade which appeared to have signed him on as a player along with another international, another Cowan, Jimmy of that ilk.

This wonderful urge to play football persisted at least into the 1960s and for years he carried his football boots in the car on the off chance that somewhere there was a game in which one of the teams might be a man short. He would play with anyone with not the slightest hint of condescension. He was a dapper player, although his hair went early in life and even in his twenties he would attract shouts of ''watch that old yin''.

Players very often say that they would play for nothing and no-one exemplified this more than John Carmichael Kelly. He was a professional and a very good one but in

his romantic attachment to

the game, an attachment that was lifelong, he was like the reluctant scholar released

from school who before the classroom door swung shut was off to play ''three and in'' or ''wee headies''.

He will be remembered.