Description
Solly Hofman
Born: October 29, 1882 in St. Louis, Missouri
Died: March 10, 1956 (aged 73) in St. Louis, Missouri
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 160 lbs.
Position: Centerfielder, Second Baseman and First Baseman
Played For:
Pittsburgh Pirates (1903)
Chicago Cubs (1904–12)
Pittsburgh Pirates (1912–13)
Brooklyn Tip-Tops (1914)
Buffalo Blues (1915)
New York Yankees (1916)
Chicago Cubs (1916)
Biography:
An above-average centerfielder and one of the Deadball Era’s finest utility men, Artie Hofman was a timely hitter and one of the fleetest men in the game. Known as “Circus Solly,” a nickname some attributed to a comic strip character from the early 1900s, while others swore it came from his spectacular circus catches, Hofman garnered attention with his playing style and also his lively antics. He is “serious only when asleep,” jibed Baseball Magazine. Along with fellow free spirits Frank “Wildfire” Schulte and Jimmy Sheckard, Hofman completed what Ring Lardner once called “the best outfield I ever looked at.”
Arthur Frederick Hofman was born in St. Louis on October 29, 1882. One of five ball-playing brothers-Louis, Oscar, George, and Erwin were the others-Arthur received encouragement from his father, Louis Sr., who managed the well-known Mound City Ice and Cold Storage team that played its games at Lindell Park, then at the corner of Grand and Hebert, only a block north of Busch Stadium. His sister, Birdie, starred on the Central High School basketball team and was a teammate of novelist Fannie Hurst. All of the Hofman brothers played in the St. Louis Trolley League, and Oscar played briefly for Columbus in the American Association. An exceptional track star at Smith Academy, Arthur performed so well with the Belleville (Illinois) Clerks that he earned a contract with Evansville in the Three-I League, where he played third base in 1901 and 1902.
More info:
http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/32fbe6b2
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hofmaso01.shtml
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solly_Hofman
