Elroy Hirsch

Elroy Hirsch

refer to caption

Hirsch from 1944 Michiganensian
No. 40
Position: Halfback, end
Personal information
Date of birth: (1923-06-17)June 17, 1923
Place of birth: Wausau, Wisconsin
Date of death: January 28, 2004(2004-01-28) (aged 80)
Place of death: Madison, Wisconsin
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight: 190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
College: Wisconsin, Michigan
NFL draft: 1945 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards: 687
Rushing average: 3.3
Rushing TDs: 3
Receptions: 387
Receiving yards: 7,029
Receiving TDs: 60
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch (June 17, 1923 – January 28, 2004) was an American football running back and receiver for the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Rockets, nicknamed for his unusual running style.

Early life

Hirsch was born in Wausau, Wisconsin to German-Norwegian parents.[1] He developed his running style running cross legged over four square cement sidewalk blocks in his home town.[2] Hirsch played for legendary coach Win Brockmeyer during his time at Wausau High School.

Hirsch played his first college season with the University of Wisconsin Badgers (UW) in 1942. His nickname was permanently affixed to him by Chicago Daily News sportswriter Francis J. Powers who, upon witnessing him play for the Badgers against the Great Lakes Naval Station in 1942, wrote "His crazy legs were gyrating in six different directions, all at the same time; he looked like a demented duck."[3]

His commitment to the United States Navy V-12 program in United States Marine Corps required him to transfer to the University of Michigan. He played two intercollegiate football seasons for the Michigan Wolverines where during the 1943-44 year he earned the distinction of being the only athlete at the school to letter in four sports (football, basketball, track and baseball) in a single year.[4] He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974.

Professional football career

Hirsch was drafted by the Chicago Rockets of the All-America Football Conference, where he played from 1946 to 1948, in three injury-prone seasons. After the Rockets and the AAFC merged with the NFL, he joined the Los Angeles Rams through 1957, where he gained his fame.

Coach Clark Shaughnessy made Hirsch the first full-time "flanker" in NFL history, splitting the talented receiver outside from his previous halfback position. Additionally, he was one of the first to sport the molded plastic helmet that is the industry standard today. Coach Shaughnessy fitted it for him as a precaution because he was injured when first joining the Rams. When playing for Chicago in an All-America game against the Cleveland Browns, Hirsch was tackled so badly that his right knee ligaments were torn. He also suffered a fractured skull above his right ear.[5]

Hirsch was key to the Los Angeles Rams 1951 NFL championship season, with a record 1,495 yards receiving, a record that stood for 19 years. He also had 66 catches, and 17 touchdowns that same year in 12 games.[2]

Later years

Hirsch served as the Director of Athletics for the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1969 to 1987. Within four years, he had raised home attendance at football games from 43,000 to 70,000. During his tenure as athletic director, the number of sports offered by the UW athletics department doubled and the Badgers won national titles in ice hockey, men's and women's crew, and men's and women's cross country.[4]

Hirsch died of natural causes at an assisted living home in Madison, Wisconsin on January 28, 2004.[2]

Honors

Hirsch was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968 with a career 387 receptions, 7,029 yards, and 60 touchdowns. He had earlier been elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1964.

He was named to the NFL all-time all-star team.

In 1999, he was ranked number 89 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

He was elected to the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 1984.

The shortest street in Madison, WI, just south of Camp Randall Stadium, was renamed to "Crazylegs Lane" in his honor.

The University of Wisconsin retired his number 40. It was added to the facade of Camp Randall Stadium on October 28, 2006.

For his contribution to sports in Los Angeles, he was honored with a Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum "Court of Honor" plaque by the Coliseum commissioners.

Each spring since 1981, the Crazylegs Classic, an 8-kilometer race leading through downtown Madison and the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus, has been held in his honor. Proceeds benefit the University of Wisconsin Athletics Department.[6]

In popular culture

Hirsch starred in the eponymous film of his life in 1953, Crazylegs. He also starred in the movies Unchained and Zero Hour!, a 1957 airline disaster movie.

He guest-starred as himself in the April 8, 1965, episode of The Munsters along with Leo Durocher.

References

  1. ↑ "Elroy was born in Wausau on June 17, 1923. His adoptive parents, Otto and Mayme Hirsch were German–Norwegians, his father a worker in a local iron works."
  2. 1 2 3 Wallace, William N. (January 29, 2004). "Crazylegs Hirsch, 80, Rams' Big-Play Receiver, Is Dead". New York Times. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  3. ↑ Anderson, Dave (2005). University of Wisconsin Football. Arcadia Publishing. p. 61.
  4. 1 2 Ross, J. R. (January 31, 2004). "Elroy 'Crazy Legs' Hirsch; Rams player had running style". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-09-25.
  5. ↑ Michael MacCambridge, "America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation", p. 64.
  6. ↑ "Crazylegs Classic". Retrieved 2009-09-25.

External links

Elroy Hirsch at Find a Grave

Records
Preceded by
Don Hutson		 NFL single-season receiving record
1951–1961 		Succeeded by
Charlie Hennigan
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