Evening star., 1961-01-30
SPOTLIGHT
SPORTS
The Jungle Calls
BY BILL FUCHS


is not much more fun left in bouncing off aluminium
pole better than anybody else He has just about had It,
When Bragg went the bar at IS feet inch in The
Star Games Saturday night at the Armory marked the
13Oh time he has gone the 5oo barrier which not
too long ago was the exclusive domain OF Cornelius
erdam
Bob Richards who the vaulting king before Bragg
scaled the height 126 times
Il have incentive" Bragg says i've got the rec
ords have an Olympic gold medal I've jumped IS feet
times than Richards. few meets maybe and
think I'm going to get out"
1t no secret that Bragg has his heart set on becom
ing movielands next Tarzan of Apes Anybody the
Armory Saturday night who Of 1t may have
been thinking the husky vaulte in the blue
must have gotten his confused With that Tarzan
do Bragg looked like something left over from Vince
McMahon's wrestling productions at Capitol Arena.
And II the coffue In keeping with Edgar Rice Bur-
roughs jungle king the vocal accomplishments of
the pride of Penns Grove N citizen Penns Grove
has missed hearing the airspittng on
more than occasion split the serenity that normally
quiet community.
Il give the CALL" Bragg says with no sham Of mod
esy DO know that of the TarzanS since Johnny
WeiSsmuler has been able to give the call They've had
to play Weissmulers calls in the background while the
Tarzans pantomimed it, The people in my home town,
they know can give it."
INDEED THEY DO, And the people OF Penns Grove
have known OF Brags Tarzan tendencies for Bragg
isn't going apeman because of his proweSs and fame with
pole vault Rather 1t is the other way around He is
champion of the pole vauters because Tarzan not Hop
along Cassidy Roy Rogers, was his boyhood hero.
Swinging from trees Braggs top recreational pur
suit the age Of when he built his first platform and
tied his first rope to a tree.
"Tarzanvlle we called it," he says. I'VE ended up
with eight nine swings tied 80 feet in the air Wed
swing IS 20 feet off the ground from platform to plat
form. We'd even play tag that way.
Little sister among the participants So were
Don's two brothers and flock of neghbor kids.
IT'S tremendous exercise says Bragg, who still swings
from the trees Its great for the arms back all the
muscles When my sister only IS years old she vaulted
feet That's pretty good for girl that age younger
brother George, did 3 feet in high school with no
practice.
Besides that, it's lot Of fun"
Johnny Belitza, University Of Maryland vaulter put
in time in Tarzanvlle, as did Ron Brady vaulter at
Notre Dame.
BRAGG HAS NEW 1arzanvile at his new home at
Van Nuys, Calf He married three months ago to
tne former Terry Fiore Of Penns Grove.
Terry doesn't swing from trees and neither would
Clay Kemp another Of Braggs former neghbors now
ves In Arlington Kemp parttme sportswrter for the
Northern Virginia Sun, had dream on February night
in 1889 -.~
Il dreamed / was pole vautng." saws Kemp who
never mas pole vauted And this other guy vautng
out couldn't his face Anyway he set new indoor
recoro OF 10 feet 91a and second at 15-4
l told Jimmy Tucker of the Sun about that dream
the next day. He'll tell you. So will Bragg"
Three nights after Kemps dream Bragg did break
ne INDOOR record with leap Of 1924 the greatest vault
In history in the Philadelphia Inquirer Games And the
Second-place man, Bob Gutowski did 15-4
Wnen Bragg won Saturday night, he carted away his
second GElCO Trophy The Government Employees In
surance CO. has been putting the vautng trophy since
tne event became part of The meet in 1949 And
TINS Time the cup was presented in honor of Gutowsk who
oieo IN an auto accident last August
AS ior Kemp sports is more avocation than vocation
ms main loo that OF an IBM computer machine spe-
caist with GEICO. He's been there years As Co
ordnator OF data systems procedures" Kemp is too
ucn OF realst to put faith in dreams STILL the whole
tnlng maze MIN bit uneasy. No hamburQers and
pickles before bedtime ~