Bobby Hofman

Robert George Hofman (October 5, 1925 – April 5, 1994) was an American infielder, catcher and coach in Major League Baseball. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Hofman threw and batted right-handed, and stood 5'11" (180 cm) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg).

Life and career

Hofman's seven-year MLB playing career (1949; 1952–57) was spent entirely with the New York Giants. After a 19-game trial with them in 1949, Hofman made the Giants to stay in 1952 and was a member of their 1954 world championship roster. His managers, Leo Durocher and Bill Rigney, used Hofman in a utilityman role and as a right-handed pinch hitter off the Giant bench. Over the course of his National League career, he would appear in 86 games at second base, 49 games at first base, 45 contests as a third baseman, and 26 as a catcher. As a hitter, he had some power, twice (in 1953 and 1955) reaching double figures in home runs. Overall, he appeared in 341 games, batting .248 with 32 home runs in 670 at bats.

From 1958 through 1965, Hofman managed in minor league baseball with the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Athletics organizations. In 1966, former teammate Alvin Dark (the shortstop for most of Hofman's tenure with the Giants) was named manager of the Athletics, and he added Hofman to his coaching staff. Hofman would go on to coach in the American League for 12 seasons (1966–72; 1974–78) with the Athletics in both Kansas City and Oakland, the Washington Senators and Cleveland Indians. He was a coach, under Dark, on Oakland's 1974 world championship team. After his coaching career, Hofman briefly was Oakland's traveling secretary and, during the 1980s, he served as director of scouting and player development of the New York Yankees. He compiled a record of 574 victories and 599 defeats (.489) as a minor league manager.

Hofman died of cancer in Chesterfield, Missouri, at the age of 68.

External links

Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
Retrosheet.org
Obituary, from The Dead Ball Era

New York Giants 1954 World Series Champions

8 Ray Katt 9 Wes Westrum 10 Davey Williams 14 Bobby Hofman 15 Billy Gardner 16 Hank Thompson 19 Alvin Dark 20 Monte Irvin 21 Jim Hearn 22 Don Mueller 24 Willie Mays 25 Whitey Lockman 26 Dusty Rhodes 27 Bill Taylor 28 Rubén Gómez 35 Sal Maglie 37 Don Liddle 40 Windy McCall 41 Al Corwin 42 Marv Grissom 43 Johnny Antonelli 49 Hoyt Wilhelm

Manager 2 Leo Durocher Coaches 1 Frank Shellenback 3 Herman Franks 6 Freddie Fitzsimmons 46 Larry Jansen

Regular season

Oakland Athletics 1974 World Series Champions

1 Dick Green 2 Ángel Mangual 3 Herb Washington 4 Billy North 6 Sal Bando 8 Manny Trillo 9 Reggie Jackson 10 Ray Fosse 11 Ted Kubiak 12 Larry Haney 13 Blue Moon Odom 14 Vida Blue 15 Claudell Washington 16 Dal Maxvill 18 Gene Tenace 19 Bert Campaneris 22 Jesús Alou 24 John Donaldson (second baseman) 26 Joe Rudi 27 Catfish Hunter 30 Ken Holtzman 32 Darold Knowles 34 Rollie Fingers (World Series MVP) 38 Jim Holt

Manager 5 Alvin Dark Coaches 41 Jerry Adair 42 Wes Stock 43 Bobby Winkles 44 Bobby Hofman

Regular season American League Championship Series

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