Von Miller will wear his Rams jersey number. Who was Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch?

On Monday, it was announced that Von Miller would take Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch’s jersey number 40 as a member of the Rams. Who was “Crazy Legs” Hirsch?

It’s always cool when one of the relatively forgotten greats of the game from decades ago gets a name check for whatever reason, and that happened on Monday, hours after the Rams traded two 2022 draft picks for future Hall of Fame pass-rusher Von Miller. Miller’s new team announced that their newest defender will wear the No. 40 he also wore at Texas A&M, a departure from the No. 58 he wore with the Broncos from 2011 through the first seven weeks of the 2021 season.

So, one of the greatest players of his era, with one of the greatest nicknames regardless of era, was all over Twitter.

Born in Wausau, Wisconsin on June 17, 1923, Hirsch enrolled at the University of Wisconsin in 1941 as a tailback who could also pass and punt the ball. He was transferred to the University of Michigan in 1943 after enrolling in the Marine Corps. In the 1943-44 academic year, he became the first athlete at Michigan to letter in four sports — football, track, baseball, and basketball. Discharged from the Marines in 1946, Hirsch was drafted by the Rams, but refused to sign with the team. He played instead for the Chicago Rockets of the All-America Football Conference from 1946 through 1948, sought his release from Chicago over a disputed bonus payment, preferred to play for his home state Packers, but as the Rams held his NFL rights, that’s where he signed.

This is where Hirsch moved from tailback to receiver, and in 1951, his third NFL season, he put together one of the most remarkable seasons in pro football history. He caught 66 passes for 1,495 yards and 17 touchdowns in a season where the average team amassed 150.8 completions for 1,952.9 yards and 16.7 touchdowns.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m48B1yWnoY

There are disputes as to the originality of Hirsch’s position switch, and the role of the flanker in the early days of professional football. John Turney and TJ Troup of the indispensable Pro Football Journal site point out that the flanker (third receiver) goes back to at least the days of Don Hutson with the Packers of the 1930s. Ray “Scooter” McLean of the 1940s Bears and Wilbur Moore of the Redskins were making similar gains at flanker before Hirsch played pro football, so there’s that. As is the case with most things in football, there isn’t one absolute originator.

But from McLean to Moore to Hirsch, there is one common coach or advisor — the great innovator Clark Shaughnessy. In 1948, Shaughnessy signed on with the Los Angeles Rams as an advisor to head coach Bob Snyder. Through the 1948 preseason, Rams owner Dan Reeves was so impressed with Shaughnessy’s football genius, he eventually made Shaughnessy the head coach. Common history has Shaughnessy deducing that Hirsch might make a better receiver than a running back, making Hirsch a flanker instead, and thus creating the three-receiver formation as a base offensive concept.

In truth, Hirsch was a bit of a few receivers you could spot today. He resembled Cooper Kupp in his ability to get open in short spaces in a timing and rhythm-based passing game, he was kind of the Tyreek Hill of his day in his ability to foil defenses with motion from the backfield, and you could also compare him to Hill or perhaps Victor Cruz as a speed slot receiver.

Hirsch’s playing career ended in 1957, and we went on to serve as the Rams’ general manager starting in 1960. The Rams had an opening, as Pete Rozelle, their previous GM, started his time as NFL Commissioner. In 1969, Hirsch became Wisconsin’s athletic director, a position he held until 1987.

Hirsch was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968, and into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974. Hirsch was inducted into the National High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1988, as well. He was a member of the Hall of Fame All-1950s Team, and in 1969, for 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.

Hirsch married his high school sweetheart, Ruth Stahmer, and the two remained married until his death from natural causes at age 80 on January 28, 2004.