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).

Hofman seven-year MLB playing career (1949; 1952-57) was spent entirely with the New York Giants. After a 19-game trial with them in by|1949, Hofman made the Giants to stay in by|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 by|1953 and by|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 by|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. 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

* [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/H/Phofmb101.htm retrosheet.org]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hofmabo01.shtml Playing record, from Baseball Reference]
* [http://thedeadballera.com/Obits/Hofman.Bobby.Obit.html Obituary, from The Dead Ball Era]