2023 -- H 6481

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LC003103

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

POSTHUMOUSLY HONORING THE LEGACY AND LIFE OF ELLISON MYERS

"TARZAN" BROWN, A NATIVE AMERICAN NARRAGANSETT INDIAN WHO TWICE

WON THE BOSTON MARATHON

     Introduced By: Representatives Spears, Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Chippendale, Tanzi,
Fellela, Shallcross Smith, Ajello, Cortvriend, and Kislak

     Date Introduced: June 06, 2023

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, Ellison Brown was raised in deep poverty in a two-room shack on the

Narragansett Ashaway Reservation in Westerly, the fifth of eight children born to Otis Brown and

Grace Ethel Babcock; and

     WHEREAS, As a member of the Narragansett Indians, and a descendant of the last

acknowledged royal family of the Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island, Mr. Brown’s tribal name

was "Deerfoot" but as a young boy, he was nicknamed "Tarzan" due to his love of climbing and

swinging from the trees like the legendary movie actor, Johnny Weissmuller; and

     WHEREAS, As a little boy, Mr. Brown began running and in his early teens, he dropped

out of school to learn traditional Narragansett stone masonry from his father, as was the

Narragansett tradition. Around this time, he met a man who would greatly influence his running

career, trainer Thomas "Tip" Salimeno, and shortly thereafter, won his first foot race, a 10-mile

event in West Warwick; and

     WHEREAS, Tarzan, as he became widely known, built his significant strength and honed

his athletic build by chopping wood and running whenever and wherever he could. He soon

began to win many races around the State, oftentimes barefoot because he couldn’t afford running

shoes; and

     WHEREAS, In 1936, in a test of endurance and fortitude that inspired the iconic naming

of "Heartbreak Hill" which is a steep, half-mile trek uphill at a 3.3 percent incline, twenty miles

into the race, Tarzan won his first Boston Marathon, after breaking his competition on the

infamously dreaded portion of the course; and

     WHEREAS, Over the course of 1936, Tarzan ran numerous additional races, notably

winning back-to-back marathons in addition to the Boston Marathon. He also earned the

distinction of being the first runner to break the 2:30 mark on the post-1926 Boston course, and

for years held the record for best time at all the Boston Marathon’s checkpoints; and

     WHEREAS, Tarzan broke myriad records over the course of his running career and held

the record for the fastest time in both the Boston and Lawrence Marathons for many years. He

also won three National Championships for shorter races, and won more than two dozen 10 to 16-

mile distance races; and

     WHEREAS, Tarzan earned a place on the 1936 U.S. Olympic team headed for the

Olympic Games in Germany. In 1939, he triumphed once again, winning the Boston Marathon

stating "I did it for Rhode Island." In 1946, he retired from running; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Brown worked as a stonemason and a shell fisherman, but often

struggled to find work over the course of his lifetime, and sadly, sold his marathon trophies to

help support his family, who to this day, hope to bring his trophies home; and

     WHEREAS, Ellison "Tarzan" Brown is "Hailed as the 'First 100 Percent American' to

Win the Boston Marathon." He left a legacy of triumph and perseverance that is inspiring, and

has been celebrated and honored with the annual Tarzan Brown Mystic River Run in Mystic,

Connecticut, every year since 1975; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

posthumously honors the legacy and life of Ellison "Tarzan" Brown; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to Ellison Brown, Jr., Ethel May Brown, Marlene

Brown-Monroe, and Norman Brown.

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