Jerold Charles Hoffberger (April 7, 1919 – April 9, 1999) was an American businessman. He was
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
of the
National Brewing Company
The National Brewing Company was an American brewing company that was founded in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1885. Its Baltimore brewery was located in the city's Highlandtown neighborhood. After World War II, it grew to be the largest brewer in Balti ...
from 1946 to 1973. He was also part-owner of 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) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
of the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
from 1954 to 1965, and majority owner from 1965 to 1979.
Biography
Hoffberger was a lifelong resident of
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, and was Jewish.
He was the only son of his father Samuel, a lawyer who was active in the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
and a major
shareholder and board chairman of National Brewing. His grandfather Charles had been a local merchant who sold wood, coal and ice. Hoffberger attended the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
. During World War II, he served in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
with the
1st Armored Division in Africa, France and Italy, where he was wounded near
Lake Bracciano
Lake Bracciano ( it, Lago di Bracciano) is a lake of volcanic origin in the Italian region of Lazio, northwest of Rome. It is the second largest lake in the region (second only to Lake Bolsena) and one of the major lakes of Italy. It has a circu ...
, northwest of Rome. Jerold Hoffberger was also involved in the
Battle of Monte Cassino.
Business career
The year after the war ended, he was appointed president of the brewery by his father after the death of his predecessor, Arthur Deute. Under the younger Hoffberger's command, National's sales rose from 230,000
barrels in 1946 to two million in 1966.
Baltimore Orioles
In
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...
, when the
St. Louis Browns
The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...
of baseball's
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
wanted to move to
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, the nearby
Washington Senators, led by
Clark Griffith
Clark Calvin Griffith (November 20, 1869 – October 27, 1955), nicknamed "The Old Fox", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, manager and team owner. He began his MLB playing career with the St. Louis Browns (1891), Boston Reds ...
, objected to the potential encroachment on their market. Hoffberger helped ease the way for the move by making his
National Bohemian beer a Senators sponsor.
When Browns owner
Bill Veeck was all but forced to sell the team, Hoffberger and attorney
Clarence Miles put together a syndicate that bought the team for $2.5 million and moved it to Baltimore as the
Orioles
Oriole or Orioles may refer to:
Animals
* Old World oriole, colorful passerine birds in the family Oriolidae
* New World oriole, a group of birds in the family Icteridae
Music
* The Orioles, an R&B and doo-wop group of the late 1940s and earl ...
.
Hoffberger was the largest single shareholder in the Orioles, but was initially a silent partner with Miles (1954–1955),
James Keelty (1955–1960) and
Joe Iglehart
Joseph Alexander Wilson Iglehart (November 15, 1891 – November 16, 1979) was an American financier who also served as an executive for the CBS, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) and two Major League Baseball, Major League Baseball (MLB) prof ...
(1960–1965). During this time, however, he bought more and more stock until he acquired controlling interest in
1965. He immediately brought in
Frank Cashen
John Francis "Frank" Cashen (September 13, 1925 – June 30, 2014) was a Major League Baseball general manager. He was an executive when the Baltimore Orioles won the 1966 World Series, and 1970 World Series while winning three consecutive AL penna ...
, National's advertising director, as executive vice president. Under the direction of Cashen and
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
Harry Dalton
Harry Inglis Dalton (August 23, 1928 – October 23, 2005) was an American front-office executive in Major League Baseball. He served as general manager of three American League (AL) teams, the Baltimore Orioles (1966–71), California Angels (1 ...
, the Orioles won four AL pennants and two World Series from 1966 to 1971.
Even though the Orioles were a success on the diamond, the team struggled financially because of lagging attendance. Looking to sell his ballclub and brewery, Hoffberger engaged in talks for three months with the
Labatt Brewing Company
Labatt Brewing Company Limited (french: La Brasserie Labatt Limitée) is a Belgian-owned brewery headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1847, Labatt is the largest brewer in Canada.
In 1995, it was purchased by Belgian brewer Int ...
which was attempting to attract a major-league franchise to move to
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
. Negotiations ended when the
National
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
and
Carling Brewing Companies agreed to a
merger on October 14, 1975. A result of the consolidation was Hoffberger becoming chairman and chief executive officer of the newly formed Carling National Breweries, Inc. He retained ownership of the Orioles which wasn't included in the transaction, but couldn't sell it without company approval.
[Ferrante, Angela. "Labatt’s 1, Carling no score," ''Maclean's'', May 17, 1976.](_blank)
Retrieved March 1, 2020
Hoffberger cast the lone dissenting ballot when the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
club owners voted to award the
Toronto expansion franchise to an investment group led by Labatt's. He had arranged the only other competing bid which was fronted by Atlantic Packaging Company chairman of the board Phil Granovsky and had the potential financial support from Carling's advertising money, but the attempt wasn't successful due to the Labatt's group having nearly purchased the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
with the intention of transferring it to Toronto. Hoffberger stated, "It was just not in the best interests of my company for Labatt’s to get the franchise."
He was a 1996 honoree into the
Orioles Hall of Fame The Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame is a team Hall of Fame dedicated to representing the most significant contributors to the history of the Baltimore Orioles professional baseball team since the first season of Baltimore baseball in 1954, which has ...
, inducted with
Cal Ripken, Sr.
Calvin Edwin Ripken Sr. (December 17, 1935 – March 25, 1999) was an American baseball player, scout, coach and manager. who spent 36 years in the Baltimore Orioles organization. He played in the Orioles' farm system beginning in 1957, and ...
and
Billy Hunter. 400 showed up at the luncheon at the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel.
When Baltimore Oriole star
Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams, from to . The only player to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of both ...
was inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, he made reference to Hoffberger. He said that after a game, Hoffberger "wouldn't come over and slap you on the back and say nice game-winning home run, nice double, nice play or whatever. The first words out of his mouth were: 'How are you? How's your family? Is there anything I can do for you?'."
Hoffberger sold his controlling interest in the Orioles to
Edward Bennett Williams
Edward Bennett Williams (May 31, 1920 – August 13, 1988) was an American lawyer who became a high-profile defense lawyer and co-founded the law firm of Williams & Connolly. Williams also owned several professional sports teams, including the Bal ...
for $12 million on August 2, 1979, with the transaction being approved unanimously by
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
team owners weeks later on October 22. The Orioles in his final year of ownership fell one victory short of winning the
1979 World Series
The 1979 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1979 season. The 76th edition of the World Series was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Pittsburgh Pirates (98–64) and ...
, set a new franchise season attendance record and earned a $1.5 million profit.
Later life
Hoffberger was known for his charitable contributions, which included assistance to
Johns Hopkins Hospital
The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. It was founded in 1889 using money from a bequest of over $7 million (1873 m ...
, the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
and
Goucher College
Goucher College ( ') is a private liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland. It was chartered in 1885 by a conference in Baltimore led by namesake John F. Goucher and local leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church.https://archive.org/details/h ...
. Town & Country magazine estimated in 1983 that he had donated more than $10 million to charities.
in the early 1970s, Hoffberger purchased a farm near
Woodbine called Sunset Hill Farm (formerly Helmore Farm) in
Howard County, Maryland where he bred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...
horses for
racing
In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific go ...
. While primarily a breeder, he did race horses on his own, notably winning the 1984
Razorback Handicap
The Razorback Handicap is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for four-year-olds and older at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt run annually in February at Oaklawn Park Race Track in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The event c ...
at
Oaklawn Park Race Track
Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, formerly Oaklawn Park Race Track, is an American thoroughbred racetrack and casino in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is the home to "The Racing Festival of the South", a four-day series of races that concludes with the A ...
.
Hoffberger died at
Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, two days after his 80th birthday.
Notes
References
* Beard, Gordon. ''Birds on the Wing''. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1967.
* Sullam, Brian. "Hoffberger 'disappointed'", ''The Baltimore Sun'', Wednesday, December 7, 1988.
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffberger, Jerold Charles
1919 births
1999 deaths
United States Army personnel of World War II
Major League Baseball executives
Baltimore Orioles owners
American racehorse owners and breeders
University of Virginia alumni
Businesspeople from Baltimore
American brewers
Jewish American philanthropists
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) executives
People from Woodbine, Maryland
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American philanthropists
20th-century American Jews