Elroy Hirsch
Hirsch as Wisconsin's athletic director in 1977 | |||||||||
| No. 80, 40 | |||||||||
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| Positions | Halfback End Flanker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | June 17, 1923 Wausau, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | January 28, 2004 (aged 80) Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Wausau (WI) | ||||||||
| College | Wisconsin (1941–1942) Michigan (1943–1944) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1945: 1st round, 5th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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Elroy Leon "Crazylegs" Hirsch (June 17, 1923 – January 28, 2004) was an American professional football player, sport executive, and actor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974. He was a first-team All-Pro in 1951 and 1953, was named to the National Football League (NFL) 1950s All-Decade Team and also was selected as a member of the NFL 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1969 and the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019.
A native of Wausau, Wisconsin, Hirsch played college football as a halfback at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Michigan, helping to lead both the 1942 Badgers and the 1943 Wolverines to number-three rankings in the final AP Polls. He received the nickname "Crazylegs" (sometimes "Crazy Legs") for his unusual running style.
Hirsch served in the United States Marine Corps from 1944 to 1946 and then played professional football in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) for the Chicago Rockets from 1946 to 1948 and in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams from 1949 to 1957. During the 1951 season, Hirsch helped lead the Rams to the NFL championship and tied or broke multiple NFL records with 1,495 receiving yards, an average of 124.6 receiving yards per game (still the third-highest season average in NFL history), and 17 touchdown receptions.
Hirsch had a brief career as a motion picture actor in the 1950s and served as the general manager for the Rams from 1960 to 1969 and as the athletic director for the University of Wisconsin from 1969 to 1987.