Biff Hoffman
 Hoffman throwing the javelin, 1927 | |
| Born: | 1904 |
|---|---|
| Died: | January 29, 1954 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| Position(s) | Fullback |
| College | Stanford |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Clifford Ellsworth "Biff" Hoffman (1904 – January 29, 1954) was an American football player and track and field star of the 1920s. He set a collegiate discus record in 1925 and was captain of the 1927 Stanford Indians football team, kicking the winning point after touchdown in the 1928 Rose Bowl Game.
Early life
[edit]Hoffman attended Petaluma High School in Petaluma, California, and then went on to attend Stanford University.[1]
Track and field
[edit]At Stanford, Hoffman was on the track and field team, where he threw the discus. He set an NCAA discus record in 1925 with a throw of 148 feet 4 inches (45.21 m), helping Stanford win the 1925 NCAA Men's Track and Field Championships.[2]
Stanford football
[edit]
Hoffman was also a fullback on Stanford's football team under legendary coach Pop Warner. The 1926 Stanford football team went undefeated in the regular season, outscoring its opponents 268–73,[3] and then faced also-undefeated Alabama in the 1927 Rose Bowl. The teams played to a 7–7 tie and were named co-national champions by most media.[4]
In 1927, Hoffman was named team captain and helped lead the team to the 1928 Rose Bowl, facing the Pitt Panthers. Behind 6–0 in the third quarter, Hoffman caught a screen pass and raced toward the end zone, but fumbled short of the goal line; another Stanford player, Frankie Wilton, picked up the fumble and ran the ball in for the touchdown. Hoffman then kicked the extra point and the score held, giving Stanford a 7–6 victory, its first Rose Bowl win in four attempts.[3] Hoffman was retroactively named the game's most outstanding player when the award was created in 1954.[5]
After football
[edit]In 1930, Hoffman married fellow Stanford graduate Claire Giannini, daughter of Bank of America founder Amadeo Giannini.[6][7] Hoffman worked as an investment banker in San Francisco, and died in 1954 of complications related to an ulcer in his esophagus.[8][9]
References
[edit]- ^ Spalding, John E. "San Francisco vs. East Bay High School All-Star Football, 1932 to 1938" (PDF). California Interscholastic Federation San Francisco. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 21, 2010. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
- ^ "Hubbard smashes broad jump record". The New York Times. June 13, 1925. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
- ^ a b Gary Migdol, Stanford: Home of Champions. Sports Publishing LLC, 1997; pp. 71–76.
- ^ Official 2009 NCAA Division I Football Records Book. Indianapolis, IN: National Collegiate Athletic Association, 2009; pp. 76–81.
- ^ "Rose Bowl MVPs". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on August 29, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
- ^ Cattani, Dana Haight; Angela B. Haight (2009). A. P. Giannini: The Man with the Midas Touch. Bloomington, Indiana: AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4389-5493-6.
- ^ "C. E. Hoffman Weds Claire Giannini" (PDF). The New York Times. May 25, 1930. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
- ^ "Clifford Hoffman dies" (PDF). The New York Times. January 30, 1954. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
- ^ "Biff Hoffman dies". Spokane Daily Chronicle. January 29, 1954. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
- 1954 deaths
- Stanford Cardinal football players
- Players of American football from San Francisco
- 1904 births
- Petaluma High School alumni
- Sportspeople from Petaluma, California
- Players of American football from Sonoma County, California
- NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
- Stanford Cardinal men's track and field athletes