Sport: Pole Vault
Born: May 15, 1935
Died: February 16, 2019
Town: Penns Grove, New Jersey
Donald George Bragg was born May 15, 1935 in Penns Grove, NJ. Tall, fast and powerful, Don was drawn to track & field sports, and particularly pole vaulting. At 6’3” he was considered too big for the sport, but Don stuck with it in part because he believed it would help him fulfill his goal of playing Tarzan in the movies. After winning vaults, he mimicked the signature Tarzan cry. Don’s first poles were bamboo rods, which obtained from a furniture store, where they were used to spool carpeting.
Don hung ropes from tree branches around his home in the Pine Barrens and swung from one to the other, a la Johnny Weissmuller. This no doubt contributed to his massive shoulders and legendary upper-body strength. It’s also how he met his future wife, Theresa, who as a little girl often rode on his back as he glided through the trees.
Don competed for the Penns Grove High track team, helping the Red Devils establish themselves as one of the top schools in South Jersey. He earned a track scholarship to Villanova in 1953 and, by his sophomore year, was the nation’s best college pole vaulter. Don won meets indoors and outdoors, but preferred competing indoors. In 1957, he tied for the AAU indoor championship. After graduating, he tied for the title again in 1958, and then won it outright three years in a row beginning in 1959.
Don favored aluminum composite poles over fiberglass. Because of his size, he had to stay on a strict diet for fear of bending the pole. Once, while carrying his metal pole at a train station, it touched an overhead wire and he nearly electrocuted himself.
In 1959, Don won his first international gold medal, at the Pan American Games in Chicago. That year, he also set an indoor world record with a vault of 15′ 9½”. Don made the US Olympic team for the 1960 Summer Games in Rome, setting a world outdoor record of 15′ 9¼” in qualifying. His main competition on the international stage was Vladimir Bulatov of the USSR. After Bulatov fractured an ankle in qualifying, Don won gold in Rome easily at 15’5”, finishing ahead of USC’s Ron Morris. On the medal podium, Don gave his best Tarzan yell.
After the Olympics, Don was actually offered the part in a couple of films, but was unavailable both times due to injury. He did make one low-budget Tarzan film, in 1964, but it was never released. Don became the Athletic Director at Stockton College in Galloway Township. He also ran a popular summer camp. Don and his wife retired to Northern California. At age 60, he could still bench-press 400 pounds.
At the 50th anniversary of the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Don gave a speech and then brought the crowd to its feet with—what else?—a hearty Tarzan yell. In 2009, Don suffered a stroke and his heath went into decline in the years that followed. He passed away in 2019 at the age of 83.