Elroy Leon "Crazylegs" Hirsch (June 17, 1923 – January 28, 2004) was an American professional football player, sport executive and actor.

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.

[6] Hirsch enrolled at the University of Wisconsin in the fall of 1941 and played on the school's freshman football team.

[7] As a sophomore, Hirsch starred as a halfback for the 1942 Wisconsin Badgers football team that compiled an 8–1–1 record, defeated reigning national champion Ohio State (17–7), lost only one game to Iowa (0–6), tied with Notre Dame (7–7), and was ranked No.

[8][9][10][11] At the end of the season, Hirsch was selected by the Associated Press (AP) as a first-team halfback on the 1942 All-Big Ten Conference football team.

According to one version, after watching Hirsch play in an October 17, 1942, game against the Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets, sportswriter Francis J.

Powers of Chicago Daily News wrote: "His crazy legs were gyrating in six different directions, all at the same time; he looked like a demented duck.

"[15] According to another version, he acquired the nickname in high school when fans in Wausau watched "the tall, slim Hirsch" run as "his legs seemed to whirl in several directions.

He sued S. C. Johnson & Son for its marketing a shaving gel for women's legs under the brand name "Crazylegs".

[18] In January 1943, Hirsch enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was transferred to the University of Michigan as part of the V-12 Navy College Training Program.

[19] In early September 1943, he broke the record at Michigan's Marine Corps training center, completing a 344-yard obstacle course in one minute and 31 seconds.

[20] He was the starting left halfback in the first seven games of the season for Fritz Crisler's 1943 Michigan Wolverines football team that compiled an 8–1 record and was ranked No.

"[23] In his first game for Michigan, Hirsch returned the opening kickoff 50 yards, scored two touchdowns and intercepted a pass.

On October 11, 1943, Hirsch scored three touchdowns, including a 61-yard reverse around the right end, and intercepted a pass to help Michigan to its first victory over Minnesota since 1932.

[25][26] Due to a shoulder injury, he appeared only briefly as a backup to kick for extra points in the final two games of the season, but he still led the Wolverines in passing, punt returns, and scoring.

[27][28] On May 13, 1944, Hirsch starred in two sports in the same day, winning the broad jump with a distance of 24 feet, 2+1⁄4 inches at a track meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and then traveling to Columbus, Ohio, where he pitched a one-hitter to give Michigan's baseball team a 5–0 victory over Ohio State.

[29] In June 1944, Hirsch and 23 other Michigan athletes were transferred to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island, South Carolina.

[34] In September 1945, he scored four touchdowns for the El Toro Flying Marines in a game against the Los Angeles Bulldogs.

[1] In May, he announced that he would not sign a contract with the Rams, stating that he intended to return to the University of Wisconsin after his discharge from the military.

[49] During the season, Hirsch, Van Brocklin, Bob Waterfield, and Tom Fears (all four of whom have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame) led the Rams to an 8–4 record and a victory over the Cleveland Browns in the 1951 NFL Championship Game.

These records include: After the 1951 season, Hirsch finished second behind Otto Graham in voting conducted by the United Press (UP) for the NFL Player of the Year award.

[72] In 1963, after Dan Reeves acquired outright ownership of the Rams, Hirsch's title was changed to assistant to the president.

[1] In a film profile of Hirsch produced by the NFL Films, Michael MacCambridge, author of "America's Game", described Hirsch as "the first true flanker deep threat" and stated: We talk today about yards after the catch, but he would get acres of yards after the catch because he was so elusive in the open field.

[78]NFL executive Bill Granholm recalled that it was Hirsch's ability to make the overhead or over-the-shoulder catch that set him apart: "He would run down the field with his chin high in the air – with his head all the way back.

[79][80] In September 1969, at the time of the NFL's 50th anniversary, Hirsch was one of 16 players named to the all-time All-Pro team selected by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.