Born May 15, 1935, Penns Grove, NJ.

Donald "Don" Bragg was the last of the great pole vaulters to use a steel pole. From 1954 until 1960, he was always world ranked and capped a brilliant career in 1960 by setting a world record of 15-9 1/4 and winning an Olympic gold medal. He set a world indoor record of 15-9 1/2 at Philadelphia in 1959and like Hall of Famer Cornelius Warmerdam vaulted better indoors than oudoors. At 6-3 and 197 pounds, Bragg was one of the largest vaulters in history. He graduated from Villanova University and was nicknamed "Tarzan" because of his size and strength. His goal was to play that role in the movies but that never happened. He won or tied for five AAU title indoors, won another AAU crown outdoors and won the 1955 national collegiate title. He later became a college track coach.