Fundraiser To Honor Local Boston Marathon Winner Ellison Brown
A Statue for Tarzan Brown – The Runner Who Gave Heartbreak Hill Its Name
Charlestown’s Ellison Myers Brown Sr. (September 22, 1914 – August 23, 1975), was widely known as Tarzan Brown and known as Deerfoot among his people of the Narragansett Indian Tribe.
Brown was a two-time winner of the Boston Marathon, in 1936 (2:33:40) and 1939 (2:28:51). He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Brown was scheduled to be in the 1940 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, but they were cancelled due to WWII.
Stories about Brown often appear in the Boston media at race time. One is that, in 1935, he ran the last miles of the race barefoot, having discarded his tattered sneakers approximately 20 miles into the race. Another is that, in 1936, the defending champion overtook Brown on what soon came to be known as Heartbreak Hill, reportedly giving Brown a pat on the shoulder; Brown rallied and won the race.
The Tarzan Brown Memorial Fund has been established to preserve the memory of Ellison “Tarzan” Brown, by seeking donations for the creation of a life size bronze statue of Tarzan. Once completed, the statue will be housed at Tomaquag Museum’s future location, at the University of Rhode Island.
To learn more and donate to the fund, please visit https://tarzanbrownmemorialfund.org/
April 25, 2025 @ 8:13 pm
We hope that all who see this site spread the word among friends by social media,(Facebook , Instagram), email, messenger.
Visit tarzanbrownmemorialfund.org
and make a donation to support this worthwhile project. We’re a 501 C3 non profit organization
April 22, 2025 @ 11:21 pm
I am thankful for this recognition for Tarzan Brown. The Narragansett Tribe has been considered invisible and held to stereotypes for decades. Please note Courtland Stanton’s “Rhode Island” Magazine Interview in 1978. He stated, “to be an Indian in Rhode Island is to be invisible.” I believe the reporter in that article owes my grandfather an apology. There is a photo with a half pint of liquor in his pocket. He was blind, worked his farm, and volunteered as a fireman.
April 22, 2025 @ 4:11 am
Great article. My Grand Uncle (Grandmother’s brother) deserves to be honored. I love this article bringing recognition to him.