Rhode Island HR 6481: HOUSE RESOLUTION POSTHUMOUSLY HONORING THE LEGACY AND LIFE OF ELLISON MYERS "TARZAN" BROWN, A NATIVE AMERICAN NARRAGANSETT INDIAN WHO TWICE WON THE BOSTON MARATHON

Bill Text

2023 -- H 6481 
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LC003103 
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S T A T E      O F     R H O D E      I S L A N D 
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 1 
Narragansett  Ashaway Reservation in Westerly, the fifth of eight children born to Otis Brown and 2 
Grace Ethel Babcock; and  3 
WHEREAS,  As  a  member  of the  Narragansett  Indians,  and  a  descendant  of  the  last 4 
acknowledged royal family of the Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island, Mr. Brown’s tribal name 5 
was  "Deerfoot"  but  as  a  young  boy,  he  was  nicknamed  "Tarzan"  due  to  his  love  of  climbing  and 6 
swinging  from the trees like the legendary movie  actor, Johnny Weissmuller;  and  7 
WHEREAS,  As  a  little  boy,  Mr.  Brown  began  running  and  in his early teens, he dropped 8 
out  of  school  to  learn  traditional  Narragansett  stone  masonry  from  his  father,  as  was  the 9 
Narragansett  tradition.  Around  this  time,  he  met  a  man  who  would  greatly  influence  his  running 10 
career,  trainer  Thomas  "Tip"  Salimeno,  and  shortly  thereafter,  won  his  first  foot  race,  a  10-mile 11 
event in  West Warwick; and  12 
WHEREAS,  Tarzan,  as  he  became  widely  known, built his significant strength and honed 13 
his  athletic  build  by  chopping  wood  and  running  whenever  and  wherever  he  could.  He  soon 14 
began to win many races around the State, oftentimes barefoot because he couldn’t afford running 15 
shoes; and  16 
WHEREAS,  In  1936,  in  a test  of  endurance  and  fortitude  that  inspired  the iconic naming 17 
of  "Heartbreak  Hill"  which  is  a  steep,  half-mile  trek  uphill  at  a  3.3  percent  incline,  twenty  miles 18 
into  the  race,  Tarzan  won  his  first  Boston  Marathon,  after  breaking  his  competition  on  the 19 

 
 
 
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infamously  dreaded portion  of the course; and  1 
WHEREAS,  Over  the  course  of  1936,  Tarzan  ran  numerous  additional  races,  notably 2 
winning  back-to-back  marathons  in  addition  to  the  Boston  Marathon.  He  also  earned  the 3 
distinction  of  being  the  first  runner  to  break  the  2:30  mark  on  the  post-1926  Boston  course,  and 4 
for years held the record for best time at all the Boston Marathon’s checkpoints; and 5 
WHEREAS,  Tarzan  broke  myriad  records  over  the course of his running career and held 6 
the  record  for  the  fastest  time  in  both  the  Boston  and  Lawrence  Marathons  for  many  years.  He 7 
also  won  three  National Championships for shorter races, and won more than two dozen 10 to 16-8 
mile  distance races; and  9 
WHEREAS,  Tarzan  earned  a  place  on  the  1936  U.S.  Olympic  team  headed  for  the 10 
Olympic  Games  in  Germany. In 1939,  he  triumphed  once  again,  winning  the  Boston  Marathon 11 
stating  "I did  it  for Rhode Island."  In 1946,  he retired from running;  and  12 
WHEREAS,  Mr.  Brown  worked  as  a  stonemason  and  a  shell  fisherman,  but  often 13 
struggled  to  find work  over  the  course  of  his  lifetime,  and  sadly,  sold  his  marathon  trophies  to 14 
help  support  his family,  who to this  day, hope  to bring  his  trophies  home; and  15 
WHEREAS,  Ellison  "Tarzan"  Brown  is  "Hailed  as  the  'First  100  Percent  American'  to 16 
Win  the  Boston Marathon."  He  left  a  legacy  of  triumph  and  perseverance  that  is  inspiring,  and 17 
has  been  celebrated  and  honored  with  the  annual  Tarzan  Brown  Mystic  River  Run  in  Mystic, 18 
Connecticut,  every year since 1975; now, therefore be it 19 
RESOLVED, That  this  House  of  Representatives  of  the  State  of  Rhode  Island  hereby 20 
posthumously  honors  the legacy and life of Ellison  "Tarzan"  Brown; and be it further  21 
RESOLVED,  That  the  Secretary  of  State  be  and  hereby  is  authorized  and  directed  to 22 
transmit  duly  certified  copies  of  this  resolution  to  Ellison  Brown,  Jr.,  Ethel  May  Brown,  Marlene 23 
Brown-Monroe,  and Norman Brown. 24 
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LC003103 
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