BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
Featured in Varsity Magazine
Tom Grantham hasn't embellished the narrative over the years; 35 to be exact since three jogging buddies came up with a "Hall of Fame" idea (as it turned out) over beers at Charley's Café, a block off State Street and long since gone from the Madison landscape.
"We'd run and then we'd have a beer – I'm not sure which we did more of by the way," kidded Grantham, who was accompanied in this brainstorming endeavor by Ken Sparks and Rich Backus, the owner of the café. "We were talking about having a run, a fun run."
They were all intrigued by the potential of such a run. Might even be a fundraiser. They just needed others to feel the same way about it. To this end, Grantham felt like the event could use a hook, a catchy name to create interest and draw participants, one that would resonate with the runners.
"Hey, I've got just the name for it," Grantham announced excitedly. "Crazylegs."
No explanation was needed, not then, not really now. To loyal Wisconsin fans/Cheeseheads, there was only one Crazylegs – the legendary Elroy (Crazylegs) Hirsch.
"Coincidentally," Grantham remembered of the era, the early '80s in Badger athletics, "Elroy was still trying to do everything that he could to get things turned around.
"He had the Crazylegs Classic golf outing for boosters (donors) and he'd put about 55 guys on a bus and we'd go to Century World or Spring Green or wherever."
Sparks and Backus encouraged Grantham to take the idea to Hirsch, the UW athletic director.
So he did.Â
"Elroy," he began, "We want to start this fun run and we want to use your name."
Hirsch's response to Grantham?
"He said, 'You're crazy.'"
They shared a laugh. But the more they discussed it, the more it made sense to Hirsch, especially the part about using the money that was raised to endow athletic scholarships at Wisconsin. So he signed off on it and Grantham, Backus and Sparks had their fun run, the Crazylegs Classic.
Since then, Grantham has jokingly confessed on more than once occasion, "The idea came out of the blue. Other guys sat around and started Internet companies. We thought of a race."
Who knew, though, it would grow so fast and be so successful? The first run in 1982 attracted a little over 1,500 runners and raised almost $10,000. Last spring, the 35th edition, drew more than 13,000 entries. Over the last three decades, the Crazylegs Classic has raised over $3 million.
Grantham, now 78, has been present for each one of them. As a runner, walker, organizer.
"It's so gratifying each spring to see all of these different people come out (for the event) whether they're old, young, or kids," said Grantham. "Most of us take Camp Randall Stadium for granted because we've been in there and out of there so many times.
"But for many of these runners and walkers, it's a first time – it's an opportunity to enter the stadium and look up and see themselves on the Jumbotron (the scoreboard video screen in the north end) while crossing the 50-yard-line. It really gives them a thrill."
"It's gratifying each spring to see all of these different people come out (for the event) whether they're old, young, or kids," said Grantham. "Most of us take Camp Randall Stadium for granted because we've been in there and out of there so many times."
Many years ago, Grantham was recruited out of Chardon, Ohio (30 miles east of Cleveland) to play football for the Badgers. He was a lineman in the one platoon era.
"I was a legendary athlete," he said, "in my own mind."
But there was no shortage of star power among his teammates.
On his recruiting weekend, he was introduced to a player from Kenosha.
Alan (the Horse) Ameche, the school's first Heisman Trophy winner.
"There were so many good athletes here (the mid-to-late '50s)," Grantham said. "The likes of Jerry Stalcup, Danny Lanphear, and Jim and John Heineke. Â But you've still got to compete, take your licks and play when you get your chances. It was frustrating that I didn't get to play more."
He has forever joked, "I was a teammate of Pat Richter and Jim Bakken."
The punchline? "They played," he said, "and I watched."
But he still got the most out of his Wisconsin experience, particularly academically.
"I got into the School of Business and that just led me to all the things that occurred," he said of his off the field success after graduation. "I have a great deal of gratitude for the athletic department. That's one of the primary reasons why I've stayed so actively involved in trying to help raise funds."
After leaving school, Grantham worked for Standard Oil of Indiana. He bounced around from Milwaukee to Green Bay to Clintonville to Chicago to Janesville. "Finally, I said, 'Enough is enough,'" he related. "I decided to get into the financial services business and moved back to Madison."
Grantham has been a fixture at Merrill Lynch for over three decades. During that time, he has helped oversee a summer internship for UW athletes. Linebacker
Vince Biegel, tailbacks
Corey Clement and
Dare Ogunbowale, center
Dan Voltz and basketball guard Zak Showalter were recent interns.
"It's really pretty neat," Grantham said. "A lot of the athletes that come in here have no idea of what the markets are all about. And a lot of them are going to have opportunities to earn substantial amounts of money, a lot of them are going to get drafted."
Grantham has been impressed by the "the quality" of the student-athletes who have taken part in the internship and how they've been "very conscientious" in the office and "class guys, too."
Biegel, for one, has interned each of the last two summers.
"If you have to be on a battle field," Grantham said, "you want a guy like him on your side."
Biegel returned the compliment.
"Tom is a phenomenal guy; an extremely gracious man and someone I will keep in contact with the rest of my life," said Biegel. "It was definitely a busy summer at the office with all of the things that were going on (namely Brexit, the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union).
"Every single year you learn different things about the market and market trends. You learn how the people in the office react. There's pressure on all sectors, no matter what you're doing – coaching, playing, investing, portfolio management. These guys are true professionals."
Grantham knew that he wouldn't qualify for the Hall of Fame if it was based solely on his accomplishments as a UW athlete. But his contributions and impact extended well beyond the playing field. And he's being recognized accordingly, which doesn't surprise athletic director
Barry Alvarez.
"Tom is a former athlete who believes in giving back," Alvarez said. "The athletic department and university mean a lot to him. He's always there for us." And all those runners/walkers every spring."
