Hugh McElhenny

[sport historian]

Today, December 31, was Hall of Fame RB Hugh McElhenny's 92nd birthday. He is legendary for his spectacular open field runs, some of which can be found on Youtube.

 

[Don Wassall]

McElhenny was the most elusive runner ever. He was also no small scatback as he was 6' 1" and around 200 pounds. Some of his running highlights start at just over the 1:30 mark. I like how he took his time and waited for holes to open. That was back when White men were secure in football. I recall poor Travis Jervey when injuries "forced" Walrus Holmgren to play him during the 1998 season. Jervey was very big and very fast but he was so nervous and afraid of making a mistake that he just ran as fast as he could the moment the QB handed him the ball instead of waiting for things to open. Christian McCaffrey has shown the way, but the Caste System wants him to be a Jason Sehorn one-and-done, once a century freak instead of evidence that the NFL should be majority White, yes even at running back:

 

[Bucky]

Very cool video with some high quality footage of the past. The good ol days of America 1.0, makes me sick as a younger guy I'll never get to experience anything close to that.

McElhenny was a very smooth runner. Very gracefully style

 

[HaywoodZarathustra]

One of the things I hate most of all are those cretins who slow down to nothing at the 5 or 10 yard line and walk it in, or pull a DeSean Jackson. Really love to see them fumble before getting in, like what Don Beebe did to that clown Leon Lett. None of that here.

 

[wile]

Thanks for posting this. Don is absolutely correct about Holmgren another cowardly caste bully, but honestly I don't really expect much of white coaches in the NFL at this point in time.

 

[Leonardfan]

Great post by Don regarding white men being secure in football and also with the media treating McCaffery as they did with Sehorn - as some sort of outlier rather than someone who can break down barriers and stereotypes.

 

[sport historian]

There are some items about Hugh McElhenny on the internet. One from 2019 described him as "a mythical figure who is largely forgotten today."

I remember seeing McElhenny on TV playing a substitute role for the Giants in 1963. His speed was gone, but he still had some of his old moves. One was against the Browns in Cleveland. He caught a screen pass, faked three Browns off their feet and scored a TD. In the 1963 Championship game against the Bears in sub-freezing weather in Chicago, McElhenny played almost the whole second half. He broke away for 47 yards with the second-half kickoff. The young Hugh McElhenny would have gone all the way and put the Giants up 17-7 and they would probably have won. McElhenny was two days from his 35th birthday and ran out of gas.

Hugh McElhenny has about the most jaw-dropping highlights ever.