Elroy 'Crazylegs' Hirsch, who died in 2004, only played University of Wisconsin football one year but left a strong legacy in Madison.
He was a good-humored, beloved and longtime ambassador for Madison and the UW. An annual spring run that began in 1982, the Crazylegs Classic, attracts more than 20,000 participants.
Hirsch was a halfback for the 1942 Badger football team who earned his nickname while running 61 yards for a touchdown.
This is thanks for a Chicago sportswriter, who expressed wonderment at the way Hirsch ran: “His crazy legs were gyrating in six different directions, all at the same time,” Francis Powers of the Chicago Daily News wrote. “He looked like a demented duck.”
Hirsch also was UW athletic director from 1969-87 but remained a highly active ambassador for the school after his retirement. The university retired his football number, 40.
As a college athlete, Hirsch was an All-America halfback for both the UW and the University of Michigan. The Wausau, Wisconsin, native was required to transfer to Michigan because of his enrollment in the U.S. Navy's V-12 training program. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974.
As a professional football player, Hirsch was dubbed the game's first flanker and was among the sport's first offensive specialists. He played for the Chicago Rockets and Los Angeles Rams from 1946-57), totaling 387 catches for 7,029 yards and 60 touchdowns. Total points scored: 399.
Hirsch was inducted into the National Football League Hall of Fame in 1968 and National Football Hall of Fame in 1974. The Sporting News in 1999 ranked Hirsch 89 on a list the 100 greatest football players.
He was a good-humored, beloved and longtime ambassador for Madison and the UW. An annual spring run that began in 1982, the Crazylegs Classic, attracts more than 20,000 participants.
Hirsch was a halfback for the 1942 Badger football team who earned his nickname while running 61 yards for a touchdown.
This is thanks for a Chicago sportswriter, who expressed wonderment at the way Hirsch ran: “His crazy legs were gyrating in six different directions, all at the same time,” Francis Powers of the Chicago Daily News wrote. “He looked like a demented duck.”
Hirsch also was UW athletic director from 1969-87 but remained a highly active ambassador for the school after his retirement. The university retired his football number, 40.
As a college athlete, Hirsch was an All-America halfback for both the UW and the University of Michigan. The Wausau, Wisconsin, native was required to transfer to Michigan because of his enrollment in the U.S. Navy's V-12 training program. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974.
As a professional football player, Hirsch was dubbed the game's first flanker and was among the sport's first offensive specialists. He played for the Chicago Rockets and Los Angeles Rams from 1946-57), totaling 387 catches for 7,029 yards and 60 touchdowns. Total points scored: 399.
Hirsch was inducted into the National Football League Hall of Fame in 1968 and National Football Hall of Fame in 1974. The Sporting News in 1999 ranked Hirsch 89 on a list the 100 greatest football players.