1961 Boston Marathon

{{short description|American marathon in Massachusetts}}

{{Infobox sports competition event

|competition = 1961 Boston Marathon

|image =

|caption =

|date = April 19, 1961

|venue = Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

|competitors = 165

|men = Eino Oksanen

|men_win_value = 2:23:29

|prev = {{ill|1960 Boston Marathon|nl|Boston Marathon 1960|de|Boston-Marathon 1960|lt=1960}}

|next = {{ill|1962 Boston Marathon|nl|Boston Marathon 1962|de|Boston-Marathon 1962|lt=1962}}

}}

The 1961 Boston Marathon took place on Wednesday, April 19, 1961.{{efn|Per the Boston Athletic Association: "From 1897–1968, the Boston Marathon was held on Patriots' Day, April 19, a holiday commemorating the start of the Revolutionary War and recognized only in Massachusetts and Maine. The lone exception was when the 19th fell on Sunday. In those years, the race was held the following day (Monday the 20th). However, in 1969, the holiday was officially moved to the third Monday in April."{{cite web |url=https://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/history |title=History of the Boston Marathon |publisher=Boston Athletic Association |website=baa.org |accessdate=April 17, 2025}}}} It was the 65th time the Boston Marathon was organized. Contemporary news sources noted there were 231 registered runners,{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/standard-freeholder-boston-marathon-set/170557421/ |title=Boston Marathon Set With 231 Entry List |agency=CP |newspaper=Cornwall Standard-Freeholder |location=Cornwall, Ontario |page=21 |date=April 19, 1961 |accessdate=April 17, 2025 |via=newspapers.com}} with 165 actually starting the event.{{cite magazine |magazine=Sports Illustrated |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1961/05/01/the-hero-of-the-marathon-didnt-win-it |title=The Hero Of The Marathon Didn't Win It |first=Gwilym |last=Brown |via=si.com/vault |date=May 1, 1961 |accessdate=April 17, 2025}} It was the coldest weather for the race since the 1925 edition, at {{convert|39|F|C}}.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-dog-oksanen-down-kelle/170560128/ |title=Dog, Oksanen Down Kelley |first=Jerry |last=Nason |newspaper=The Boston Globe |page=43 |date=April 20, 1961 |accessdate=April 17, 2025 |via=newspapers.com}}

The race was won by Eino Oksanen of Finland in 2:23:29. American John J. Kelley finished second, 25 seconds behind, and British runner Frederick Norris finished third, nearly two minutes later. There were 101 runners that finished the race, all men.

This edition of the marathon is remembered for an incident in Newton Lower Falls, approximately {{convert|16|mi|km}} into the race, when a dog that had been running with the athletes knocked down John J. Kelley. In an act of sportsmanship, Frederick Norris stopped and helped Kelley get up. Kelley recovered well enough to lead the race until he was overtaken by Eino Oksanen with approximately {{convert|1000|yard|m}} left. After the race, Kelley refused to blame the dog for his defeat.{{cite web |url=https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-marathon/2025/04/17/boston-marathon-dog-1961-johnny-kelley-eino-oksanen/ |title=How a dog was blamed for ruining the 1961 Boston Marathon |first=Hayden |last=Bird |website=Boston.com |date=April 17, 2025 |accessdate=April 17, 2025}}