I was always intruiged by the fact that he was such a formidable person, but he wrote like a sissy.

Ahhh, yes. Well, being formidable he didn't think too much about his handwriting being sissyish!
My Dad was 6' 4" and also "formidable" and had beautiful cursive handwriting.
Our local schools did have a course in handwriting in the 1980s - I remember voting for it at the School Disctrict Meeting (similar to Town Meeting but to do with school finances) Whether it is still extant I have no idea.
And I have legible handwriting - a result of classes that were standard in all schools in the 1940s and 1950s.
(Hi Bill!)