Melrose has produced many fine athletes in its history, but none so victorious as Clarence DeMar. DeMar won the Boston Marathon seven times, in 1911, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1927, 1928, and 1930, the most in the history of what is now called the men’s division.
DeMar was born in abject poverty in southern Ohio. After his father died, his mother packed up the children and moved to Boston when a relative there promised them free rent. Young Clarence boarded at a school for orphans where he was taught the printer’s trade, which would become his lifelong profession.
By 1910, DeMar was living with his mother and siblings at 43 Union Street, in a house that has long since been demolished. Despite a doctor’s warning—he had a heart murmur—he entered the 1910 Boston Marathon, placing 2nd; the next year, he won.
This victory led him to a spiritual crisis. DeMar feared that further victories would cause him excessive pride. He did not enter a marathon for ten years, but he usually ran home each day from his job on Franklin Street in Boston, and maintained a strict vegetarian diet. He was also head of the Sunday school at First Baptist Church, and was a Scoutmaster.
By the 1920s, DeMar’s conscience felt at ease, and he began the streak of Boston Marathon wins that would put him in the record books, his final victory coming at age 41. He always wore the jersey of the Melrose American Legion post, and was closely identified with his hometown. After each win, thousands of Melrosians would line Main Street to welcome him home.
In 1929, DeMar married Margaret Ilsley, a fellow Sunday school teacher at First Baptist. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Keene, NH, where they would spend the rest of their lives. In October, 1930, the new Melrose athletic fields—today’s Fred Green and Morelli fields—were dedicated to DeMar.
Today, the only visible reminder of what was once Melrose’s most famous citizen is the Marathon Memorial on the Main Street side of Ell Pond, which was dedicated in 2001.
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