John Joseph Kelley (December 24, 1930 – August 21, 2011) was an American

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

who won the 1957

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...

and the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

at the

1959 Pan American Games The 1959 Pan American Games, officially known as the III Pan American Games and commonly known as Chicago 1959, were held in Chicago, Illinois, United States between August 28 and September 7, 1959. Host city selection One city initially su ...

. He was also a member of the United States Olympic teams of 1956 and 1960, competing in the marathon. He was often dubbed "Kelley the Younger" to avoid confusion with Johnny Kelley (1907–2004; "Kelley the Elder"), winner of the 1935 and 1945 Boston Marathons; the two men were not related.

Career summary

Kelley was born in

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic River, Yantic, Shetucket River, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River f ...

. He began racing in marathons during his college years. From 1950 to 1954, he attended

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

, located about a mile from the Boston Marathon finish line. While there, he excelled in team races and would run his first two Boston Marathons, in 1953 and 1954. He finished fifth in the 1953 race before following up with a 7th-place finish the next year. After graduating, he finished 2nd in the 1956 Boston Marathon and made his way onto the U.S. Olympic Marathon team which competed in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

during the same year. He would go on to win the Boston Marathon outright in 1957 while setting a new course record on the remeasured course. After his win at Boston, Kelley would win several other marathons, including eight consecutive wins of the

Yonkers Marathon The Yonkers Marathon, is a marathon race held annually in Yonkers, New York. Founded in 1907, it is the second oldest marathon in the United States, after the Boston Marathon. It is held on the third Sunday in October. In addition to the marat ...

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

. During all those years, the Yonkers Marathon served as the National Championship. As a result of his record setting performance at Yonkers in 1960, he again found his way onto the U.S. Olympic Marathon team and competed in the 1960 Olympics in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He placed 21st and 19th in the Melbourne and Rome Olympic marathons, respectively.

Boston Marathon results

* 1953 2:28:19 5th * 1954 2:28:51 7th * 1956 2:14:33 2nd * 1957 2:20:05 1st * 1958 2:30:51 2nd * 1959 2:23:43 2nd * 1960 * 1961 2:23:54 2nd * 1962 2:28:37 4th * 1963 2:21:09 2nd * 1964 2:27:23 7th * 1965 2:25:23 14th * 1967 2:25:25 12th *

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

2:37:03 15th * 1969 2:31:36 22nd *

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

2:36:50 63rd * 1971 2:44:10 96th * 1972 2:40:05 79th * 1973 2:41:13 66th * 1974 2:32:18 78th *

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

2:34:11 169th * 1976 2:46:43 154th * 1977 2:46:26 353rd * 1980 2:55:45 * 1982 2:55:50 * 1983 2:55:30 * 1984 2:58:35 * 1986 3:01:40 *

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

3:08:46 * 1988 3:28:53 *

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

3:46:50 *

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

4:07:32

Other milestones

Kelley is a runner to ever win both the Boston Marathon and the Mount Washington Road Race, which he won in 1961. Another runner, Jacqueline Gareau, has also won both. He made the ascent in one hour and 8 minutes 54 seconds, nearly seven minutes faster than the winning times in the three previous years the race had been held, 1936–1938. In September 2014, a larger-than-life sized bronze statue of Kelley and his dog (Brutus) was dedicated in downtown Mystic, Connecticut.Johnny Kelly Statue Unveiled
Theresident.com (October 1, 2014). Retrieved on 2017-10-19.

Later years

After his career as a runner ended, he went on to a successful career as high school running coach. At Fitch High School in

Groton, Connecticut Groton ( ) is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States, located on the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United St ...

, Kelley coached Amby Burfoot, winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon, and Julia Chase, the first woman to successfully challenge the gender barrier of the Amateur Athletic Union. He coached American Power-lifting Champion and world record holder Christopher Annino. In addition to coaching, he found work over the years as a newspaper columnist, freelance writer, cab driver and Kelley's Pace running wear store co-owner.

Personal life

Kelley married Jacinta C. Braga in 1953, and together they had three children, Julia, Kathleen, and Eileen.

Death

Kelley died in North Stonington, Connecticut at the age of 80 on August 21, 2011.

References

External links

John Kelley in City of Yonkers Sports Hall of Fame

Kelley Memorial site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, John J. 1930 births 2011 deaths American male long-distance runners Sportspeople from Norwich, Connecticut Track and field athletes from Connecticut Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1959 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) Boston Marathon male winners American masters athletes Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games 20th-century American sportsmen