A Chance to Dare: The Don Bragg Story

Rating:
Summary: DON BRAGG by Elliot Denman
Review: "Boy, did I want to come in first in something."

That 10-word sentence captures the essence of Don "Tarzan" Bragg.

He probably uttered those words a few thousand times, to his family, to his neighborhood pals, to everybody within earshot through his growing-up years in Penns Grove, New Jersey.

In his newly published biography, "A Chance to Dare: The Don Bragg Story," written with Patricia Doherty, Bragg calls Penns Grove - in the wooded marshes near the Delaware River lowlands, west of New Jersey's Pine Barrens,"a great place to grow up if you wanted to live like Huck Finn."

And he did just that.

At age 8, he saw his first Tarzan movie, and in virtually no time flat became obsessed with the idea that he, too, would someday play the famous Johnny Weissmuller role.

From swinging through the local backyard vines on his personal "Tarzan"set, he progressed to pole vaulting for Penns Grove High School and Villanova University and, as the incredible Don Bragg Story evolved, the 1960 USA Olympic Team.

He describes his gold-medal vault at Rome Olympic Stadium this way:"It was the hardest I'd ever pulled on the swing up. I half expected the pole to break, but it held. Then, over the top, pushing off the pole, bearing down with all the strength I had in my arms. Next, disengaging, swinging my arms away from the crossbar with the grace of a maestro conducting his orchestra. I landed hard and nearly slid out of the pit.

"The roar from the crowd confirmed what I already knew: the jump was perfect."

Don Bragg never did get to play the role of "Tarzan" in the movies but his life has never been short of compelling adventures. Here's an Olympian's Olympian who's virtually done it all: world traveler, emissary of his nation, businessman, innovator, champion and record-breaker (in the sport of power-lifting as well as pole vaulting) and family man.

Through his glory-filled competition days, Bragg was known as an athlete who pulled no punches. And he pulls no punches in his biography, either - one more reason for followers of the Olympic scene to discover "the story behind the story" of gold medalist Don Bragg.

Rating:
Summary: DON BRAGG by Elliot Denman
Review: "Boy, did I want to come in first in something."

That 10-word sentence captures the essence of Don "Tarzan" Bragg.

He probably uttered those words a few thousand times, to his family, to his neighborhood pals, to everybody within earshot through his growing-up years in Penns Grove, New Jersey.

In his newly published biography, "A Chance to Dare: The Don Bragg Story," written with Patricia Doherty, Bragg calls Penns Grove - in the wooded marshes near the Delaware River lowlands, west of New Jersey's Pine Barrens,"a great place to grow up if you wanted to live like Huck Finn."

And he did just that.

At age 8, he saw his first Tarzan movie, and in virtually no time flat became obsessed with the idea that he, too, would someday play the famous Johnny Weissmuller role.

From swinging through the local backyard vines on his personal "Tarzan"set, he progressed to pole vaulting for Penns Grove High School and Villanova University and, as the incredible Don Bragg Story evolved, the 1960 USA Olympic Team.

He describes his gold-medal vault at Rome Olympic Stadium this way:"It was the hardest I'd ever pulled on the swing up. I half expected the pole to break, but it held. Then, over the top, pushing off the pole, bearing down with all the strength I had in my arms. Next, disengaging, swinging my arms away from the crossbar with the grace of a maestro conducting his orchestra. I landed hard and nearly slid out of the pit.

"The roar from the crowd confirmed what I already knew: the jump was perfect."

Don Bragg never did get to play the role of "Tarzan" in the movies but his life has never been short of compelling adventures. Here's an Olympian's Olympian who's virtually done it all: world traveler, emissary of his nation, businessman, innovator, champion and record-breaker (in the sport of power-lifting as well as pole vaulting) and family man.

Through his glory-filled competition days, Bragg was known as an athlete who pulled no punches. And he pulls no punches in his biography, either - one more reason for followers of the Olympic scene to discover "the story behind the story" of gold medalist Don Bragg.

Rating:
Summary: When Trackstars Were Heroes
Review: Back in the day and age when Track & Field was in its heyday and there was no internet, fast-food, or SUV's, our country had some real sports heroes . . . People like Rafer Johnson, Jesse Owens, Al Oerter, and Wilma Rudolph were household names and they competed for the pure fun of the sport.

There were no multi-million dollar contracts, athletes taking performance enhancing drugs, or leading lifestyles that were less than exemplary. Life was undoubtedly much simpler back then, and Don Bragg gives us a look into what it was like to tag along with a young man that had a very special athletic gift. His stories and tales of his worldwide travels are truly wonderful to read.

This book is a must read for anyone that has an interest in track and field, let alone simpler times when athletes really did compete for the prestige of Olympic Gold and not the next big shoe endorsement!

Rating:
Summary: When Trackstars Were Heroes
Review: Back in the day and age when Track & Field was in its heyday and there was no internet, fast-food, or SUV's, our country had some real sports heroes . . . People like Rafer Johnson, Jesse Owens, Al Oerter, and Wilma Rudolph were household names and they competed for the pure fun of the sport.

There were no multi-million dollar contracts, athletes taking performance enhancing drugs, or leading lifestyles that were less than exemplary. Life was undoubtedly much simpler back then, and Don Bragg gives us a look into what it was like to tag along with a young man that had a very special athletic gift. His stories and tales of his worldwide travels are truly wonderful to read.

This book is a must read for anyone that has an interest in track and field, let alone simpler times when athletes really did compete for the prestige of Olympic Gold and not the next big shoe endorsement!

Rating:
Summary: Tarzan of Asphalt Jungle Makes Good
Review: I picked up Chance To Dare before a cross-country flight. As I have never before read a sports biography, I plunged in with misgivings but was pleasantly surprised. My seat partner perhaps did not enjoy it as much, as his two broken ribs caused him to wince every time I shook with laughter.

It wasn't the humor that hooked me, but rather the transparent character of Don Bragg. The chapters recounting his boyhood in Penns Grove, New Jersey are written from the perspective of a young boy, full of innocence and bravado. It is wonderful to read of Bragg's imaginative and daring rope-swing jungle that brought all the neighborhood kids together to play Tarzan. Black kids, white kids, Gypsy kids all played together in an enviable state of carefree color-blindness, which Don carried with him even when it came up against the threatening racial barriers of South Africa - with nearly disastrous results.

If you like adventure with an iconoclast who isn't afraid to call it as he sees it, you'll like this book. I wish I had been in that movie theater when Bragg loosed his Tarzan yell while his buddy walked on his hands in front of the screen.

The book gave me a new appreciation of the ordeal Olympians go through, pole vaulters in particular, an example being what happened to Bragg's metal pole on the train to Boston.

Bragg comes across as a bundle of extremes - the good, the bad, and the bodacious. Bragg does brag, but he offsets it by owning his mistakes and showing a kind-hearted underbelly. Through all his ups and downs, his relationship with Theresa, his cherished friend and wife of many years, keeps him whole and on an even keel, and rounds out his character.

The writing is lively and crisp, and kept me interested. In particular, the account of Bragg's Olympic competition in 1960 was tremendously suspenseful, even though I already knew the outcome.

The book is fast-paced and moving - a great find.

Rating:
Summary: Jersey ape-man almost makes it big
Review: To say this guy is full of himself would be a great understatement! His world record vault with a stiff pole will NEVER be broken (everyone now uses the fiberglass pole). My hat is off to him. BUT, this guy thinks this ability was going to make him a movie star? Maybe he and the chimp would have had the same acting coach. Furthermore, as great as winning the gold medal was, people forget about you. Hello, what have you done lately? People are not going to run to get into business with you just because you are (were) Don Bragg. Sorry... at least you got to live the great American dream for a while , which is more that most can say!