E. Kirk McCreary, Sr. Sports Legend Class of 1954

Kirk, a product of the Hamburg School system K-12, reached his potential as a long distance runner in his junior and senior years of high school. The 1952 and 1953 cross country teams won the Section VI Championships. His best personal performance in cross country was placing 8th in the 1953 NYS Intersectional cross country meet in Schenectady. He was also team captain that year. After an ill-fated attempt to become a hurdler, Kirk moved up to the mile run, placing first in this event as part of the 1953 Section VI victorious Hamburg track team. As a senior, he was undefeated in the mile, set a new school record of 4:42.7 and placed first in the Sectional meet. Kirk continued his running career at Cornell University. After a 15-year hiatus, Kirk resumed long distance running, until 2010 when his right knee had had enough. This was something he truly enjoyed — at least most of the time! After serving 3 years as an Army helicopter pilot, Kirk spent his entire career in agriculture, working with growers as a marketer and manager of their organizations. He is serving his 16th year as chairman of the National Promotion Committee of the US Highbush Blueberry Council. Retiring in 2007, Kirk moved his long-time home in Michigan to Sturbridge, MA to be closer to family. He now does restoration work on the historical buildings and grounds on his son’s Massachusetts horse farm and enjoys golf, reading, local history, and travel.