[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 130 (Monday, October 11, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1874]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             ON THE PASSING OF RUNNING LEGEND, JOHNNY KELLY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 7, 2004

  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, there are few athletes whose names evoke 
instant recognition and respect with their sport. Johnny Kelly was such 
a man. Dubbed the ``Runner of the Century,'' he was a three time 
Olympic athlete, he ran the Boston Marathon 58 times (winning it twice) 
and was a frequent participant in the Cape Cod Marathon and Falmouth 
Road Race. A 1999 inductee in the Running Hall of Fame, Kelly carried 
the Olympic torch and served as a goodwill ambassador for the sport he 
so loved. He ran with greats like Jesse Owens and Stylianos Kyriakides.
  Johnny Kelly was one of the Commonwealth's favorite sons--and in his 
time, a living legend.
  His passing at the age of 97, means that for generations of Bay 
Staters a familiar figure will not be at this year's Boston Marathon 
serving as Grand Marshal. But his inspiring story will live on. On the 
course, at the base of the third hill in Newton, a statue depicts a 27-
year-old Kelley winning in 1935 and clasping hands with an older Kelley 
finishing in 1991 at 83. A fitting tribute to a man that reminded us 
all that the spirit of competition isn't just for the young, but the 
young at heart.
  I commend to my colleagues the following Cape Cod Times commentary on 
the passing of this truly great American.

                       [From the Cape Code Times]

        Two-Time Boston Marathon Champ Johnny Kelley Dead at 97

                           (By Bill Higgins)

       Johnny Kelley, one of the most celebrated and decorated 
     distance runners ever, and a name synonymous with the rich 
     history of the Boston Marathon, died Wednesday night. He was 
     97.
       Kelley won Boston twice and was woven into the fabric of 
     the event by running the race 61 times, finishing the 26.2 
     miles from Hopkinton to Boston 58 times.
       Kelley last ran Boston in 1992 at the age of 84 and then 
     presided over the race as its grand marshal. His impact on 
     the marathon was such that there is a statue of him on the 
     course with two Kelleys depicted, one young, one old, running 
     hand-in-hand across the finish line.
       Kelley died only hours after leaving his home in East 
     Dennis and moving to the Windsor Skilled Nursing and 
     Rehabilitation Center in South Yarmouth.
       Kelley was a member of three Halls of Fame and a member of 
     three U.S. Olympic teams. He was inducted into the USA Track 
     and Field Hall of Fame in 1980, the first marathoner so 
     honored. The selection committee waived the requirement 
     stipulating that an athlete be retired for at least five 
     years because, they reasoned, Kelley would never retire from 
     running.
       Runner's World magazine named Kelley its ``Runner of the 
     Century'' for his contributions to the sport.
       ``Johnny was an icon for all of running, not only the 
     Boston Marathon,'' said Guy L. Morse III of Centerville, 
     executive director of the Boston Athletic Association, the 
     race's organizer. ``He preached his gospel of health and 
     fitness and was an inspiration to everyone. `Young at Heart'; 
     wasn't just his favorite song or the title of his book. It 
     was the way he lived.''
       Born Sept. 6, 1907, John Adelbert Kelley was the oldest of 
     five boys and five girls growing up in Medford. He ran track 
     first at Medford High School, and later at Arlington High 
     School after the family moved to the nearby town.
       Kelley ran his first Boston in 1928 and, ironically, 
     dropped out. He failed to finish again in 1932, but he 
     finally got the hang of the marathon. He won his first Boston 
     in 1935 and won again in 1945.
       He also finished second seven times and one of Boston's 
     famous landmarks, ``Heartbreak Hill,'' was named for Kelley. 
     In 1936 Kelley, thinking that race leader Ellison ``Tarzan'' 
     Brown had exhausted himself by the last of a series of hills 
     in Newton around 20 miles, patted Brown on the back while 
     taking the lead. Incensed by this gesture, Brown soon 
     regained the lead and went on to win. Kelley, heartbroken, 
     faded to fifth.
       Kelley finished 18th in the marathon at the 1936 Berlin 
     Olympics. He made the Olympic team again in 1940, but the 
     games were canceled because of World War II. In the 1948 
     London Olympics, he finished 21st at age 40.
       In 1942, Kelley's wife of three years, Mary, died of cancer 
     and he was soon drafted into the U.S. Army. Private John 
     Kelley came up from Alabama's Fort McClellan for the 1943 
     Boston Marathon, where his time of 2:30:00, his fastest ever 
     at Boston, left him second again.
       Another second place followed in 1944. But in 1945, a 
     decade after his first win in Boston, Kelley won again at 37 
     in 2:30:40.
       In 1993, the statue ``Young at Heart'' was dedicated in 
     honor of Kelley at the base of Heartbreak Hill. The statue 
     depicts a 27-year-old Kelley winning in 1935 and clasping 
     hands with an older Kelley finishing in 1991 at 83.
       ``I've had all kinds of citations and awards, but this is 
     just unbelievable,'' Kelley said at the dedication.
       ``I've had a love affair with the marathon all my life,'' 
     said Kelley, ``and now, I guess, this means I'll always be a 
     part of it.''
       Each Memorial Day weekend, races are held in Kelley's honor 
     in Hyannis, with proceeds benefiting Cape Cod Hospital, his 
     favorite charity.
       Bill Rodgers, a four-time Boston Marathon champion, always 
     called Kelley one of the greatest athletes of the 20th 
     century.
       ``When you think about it, who has done as much as John?'' 
     Rodgers said. ``Some people say Jesse Owens or Jim Thorpe 
     were the greatest ever, but for me, it's Johnny Kelley. 
     Everyone makes lists for the best this, the greatest that. 
     Johnny's on mine. He's my hero.''

                          ____________________