Elroy (Crazylegs) Hirsch, otherwise Forever 40, would have been 86 today. Born on June 17, 1923 in Wausau, Hirsch was a Hall of Fame football player and Hall of Fame fundraiser, whose indefatigable spirit is still manifesting itself years after his death (Jan. 28, 2004) in such things as the Crazylegs Classic, a mega-popular run/walk that is now going global.
Virtually everyone credited Chicago Daily News sportswriter Francis Powers for tagging Hirsch with his nickname: Crazylegs. “Hirsch ran like a demented duck,” Powers wrote of Hirsch’s 61-yard touchdown run in a 1942 game against Great Lakes Naval Station in Chicago. “His crazy legs were gyrating in six different directions all at the same time.”