Johnny Kelley, 97; Won Boston Marathon Twice

Johnny Kelley, a two-time Boston Marathon champion who became an “icon for all of running” by completing the race a record 58 times, died Wednesday. He was 97.

Kelley died three hours after moving from his home in East Dennis, Mass., to a nearby nursing home, said stepson Dave DeLong.

“Johnny Kelley has long been the heart and soul of the Boston Marathon,” said Thomas S. Grilk, president of the Boston Athletic Assn., the race’s organizer.

Kelley, an Olympian who was named “Runner of the Century” by Runner’s World magazine, won the Boston Marathon in 1935 and 1945, and finished second a record seven times.

But Kelley was best known for his longevity, competing in 61 Boston Marathons, also a record, and finishing 18 times in the top 10.

His tenure tracked the growth of the Boston contest. He was one of 285 entrants in his first race, in 1928; by his last, in 1992, there were 9,629 entrants, along with television cameras and $418,000 in prizes.

Kelley didn’t finish his first two Boston competitions, in 1928 and 1932.

He tried to stay with the leaders in 1933, but faded to 37th by race’s end. The following year, Kelley again ran near the front, this time holding on for second place.

His 1935 victory, at age 27, came in 2:32:07. He arrived at the finish line even before the tape. In 1945, he won in 2:30:40.

“Johnny was an icon for all of running, not only the Boston Marathon,” said Guy L. Morse III, executive director of the Boston Athletic Assn. “And, as much as he and his name may have been synonymous with running, he was also a true gentleman.”

Johnny Adelbert Kelley grew up in Medford, Mass., as the oldest of 10 children and ran track in high school. Running was his passion, but by trade he was a laborer at a power plant in South Boston.

His wife died of cancer in 1942, three years after they married, and he was soon drafted into the Army. The private came up from Alabama’s Ft. McClellan for the 1943 Boston Marathon, finishing second in 2:30:00, his fastest ever at Boston.

Kelley finished 18th in the 1936 Olympic marathon in Berlin. He made the Olympic team in 1940, but the Games were canceled because of World War II. At age 40, he finished 21st in the 1948 London Olympics.

Kelley continued to race at Boston through 1992, missing only in 1968. He finished his final race at age 84 in 5:58:00.

In 1993, the statue “Young at Heart” was dedicated in honor of Kelley at the base of the third of the race’s four hills in Newton. The statue depicts Kelley in his 1935 victory, clasping hands with an older Kelley finishing in 1991.

Information on survivors was not immediately available.