William Leopold Hoffer (November 8, 1870 – July 21, 1959) was a professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
player. He was a right-handed
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
over parts of six seasons (1895–1899, 1901) with the
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...
,
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
and
Cleveland Blues. For his career, he compiled a 92–46 record in 161 appearances, with a 3.75
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
and 314
strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...
s. In 1901 he archived the dubious honor of being the losing pitcher in the American League's first game.
[''Glory Fades Away'', by Jerry Lansche, 1991, Taylor Publishing, ]
In his rookie year, 1895, he compiled 31 wins (including a league-leading four shutouts) for the League-winning Orioles. He led the National League in Winning Percentage in 1895 and 1896.
He was born and later died in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...
, at the age of 88.
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball annual saves leaders
The following is a list of annual leaders in saves in Major League Baseball (MLB), with separate lists for the American League and the National League. The list includes several professional leagues and associations that were never part of MLB.
...
References
External links
1870 births
1959 deaths
Major League Baseball pitchers
Baseball players from Iowa
Baltimore Orioles (NL) players
Cleveland Blues (1901) players
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Minor league baseball managers
Cedar Rapids Canaries players
Joliet Convicts players
Toledo Black Pirates players
Marinette Badgers players
Nashville Tigers players
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Sacramento Senators players
Cleveland Lake Shores players
Des Moines Midgets players
Des Moines Prohibitionists players
Des Moines Undertakers players
Oklahoma City Mets players
Cedar Rapids Rabbits players
19th-century baseball players
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