L. Russell Kelce was a member of the fourth generation of a family that mined coal for more than a century. Russell and his brothers, Merl and Ted, became dynamic industry leaders and served consecutively as President of Peabody Coal Company from 1955 to 1965, a period of dynamic growth that saw Peabody emerge as the largest U.S. coal producer.
Born in Pittsburg, Kansas, Russell Kelce left high school at the age of 15 to work in the mines and help support his family after his father was injured in a mine accident. He became a very young Mine Superintendent at age 19. After serving in World War I, Russell and a partner started a small strip mine in Oklahoma with $230,000 of borrowed money. Russell repaid the debt within 18 months and from that point forward his credit and his reputation were good for any acquisition he wanted to make. He affiliated his company with Sinclair Coal Company and, along with Grant Stauffer, the principal in Sinclair, he embarked on a rapid expansion program, opening new and acquiring existing mines. Russell and his family accumulated a controlling interest in Sinclair, and he became President and Chief Executive Officer in 1949.
In 1949, Sinclair made a big move east of the Mississippi, acquiring Northern Illinois Coal Corp., which had several large surface mines and enormous coal reserves in Indiana and Illinois. Sinclair was now the fifth largest coal company in the United States. In 1955, Sinclair, grown to the third largest producer, made another giant step by merging with Peabody Coal Company, while retaining the Peabody name.
Russell Kelce assumed the presidency of the merged Peabody and started the company on a major expansion that continued for 15 years. Smaller coal companies were acquired, new mines were developed, and sizable technological and equipment investments were made at existing mines. Years before any requirement by state or federal laws, Russell launched Peabody on its Operation Green Earth, a highly successful reclamation program that returned almost 50,000 mined acres to productive use over a 10–year period. Although Russell did not live to see the results of his foresight, his brothers, Merl and Ted, carried out his vision and enhanced it with their years of practical knowledge. Merl succeeded Russell as Peabody President in 1957 and led Peabody to the position of number one United States coal producer in 1961. Russell’s son, Bob, followed the Kelce tradition by joining the Peabody operating organization and serving on the Peabody Board of Directors.
Throughout his career, Russell Kelce demonstrated exceptional skill at efficient management structure and provided innovative incentives that shared the success of the company with its managers, including those at the mines. In addition to his lifelong involvement in coal, Russell Kelce was also a railroader, a cattleman, a farmer, an oilman, and an industry association leader. He left behind a great legacy of fair dealing, personal integrity, and love of country and community.
