Paul James Hoffman (May 5, 1925 – November 12, 1998) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player.

High school and college career

Hoffman, a 6'2"

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, attended Jasper High School in

Jasper, Indiana Jasper is a city in, and the county seat of, Dubois County, Indiana, United States, located along the Patoka River. The population was 16,703 at the 2020 census making it the 48th largest city in Indiana. On November 4, 2007, Dubois County retur ...

from 1939 to 1943; his coach was the legendary Cabby O'Neill. After high school, he attended

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

, where he played under head coach

Ward Lambert Ward Louis "Piggy" Lambert (May 28, 1888 – January 20, 1958) was an American basketball and baseball coach. He served as the head basketball coach at Purdue University during the 1916–17 season and from 1918 to 1946. Lambert was also the head ...

. He became the only four time First Team-All Big Ten selection in

Boilermaker A boilermaker is a tradesperson who fabricates steel, iron, or copper into boilers and other large containers intended to hold hot gas or liquid, as well as maintains and repairs boilers and boiler systems.Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Dep ...

history and one of the first two players to be selected in the NBA draft with teammate

Bulbs Ehlers Edwin Sheffield "Bulbs" Ehlers (March 10, 1923 – June 17, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. Standing and weighing 198 pounds (90 kg), he played the forward and guard positions. Ehlers was drafted third overall in t ...

. He led Purdue in scoring all four seasons and won the MVP award for his performance in the 1947 All-American All-Star game at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

. Hoffman was a three-time second team Helms Foundation All-American

Professional playing career

Hoffman was drafted by the

Toronto Huskies The Toronto Huskies were a team in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which was a forerunner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), during the 1946–47 season. They were based in Toronto. The team compiled a 22–38 win–loss r ...

in the 1947 BAA draft, but never played for the team as it folded before the season began. He instead signed with the Baltimore Bullets, and averaged 10.5 points per game in his rookie season and was named

NBA Rookie of the Year The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottl ...

—a designation not currently sanctioned by the NBA for the 1947–48 season. The Bullets went on to win the 1948 BAA Finals and were crowned BAA champions. Hoffman wanted to have his salary raised following his successful debut season, but the team refused, so Hoffman left to return to Indiana and become a salesman at

Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later also a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The curren ...

. Hoffman re-signed with the team for the 1949–50 season. After playing for five seasons with the Bullets, the team disbanded in November 1954, fourteen games into the 1954–55 season. Hoffman was selected by the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

in the dispersal draft. He only played for the Knicks for less than two months before being sold to the Philadelphia Warriors. Hoffman retired from playing basketball after the season. He averaged 10.2 points, 2.9 assists and 5.1 rebounds over his career.Paul Hoffman Stats
Basketball Reference. Accessed on June 7, 2017.

Coaching career

From 1956 to 1959, he was head baseball coach at Purdue, replacing

Hank Stram Henry Louis Stram (; January 3, 1923 – July 4, 2005) was an American football coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the Dallas Texans / Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NF ...

; his career totals were 52–49–2 (.505) all games and 18–30–1 (.367) in Big Ten Conference games. He was replaced as the head baseball coach by former Boilermaker star

Joe Sexson Joe Sexson (March 29, 1934 – April 30, 2011) was an American college basketball coach. He was the men's head coach at Butler Bulldogs, Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1978 to 1989. He was the head baseball coach at Purdue ...

. He also worked as an assistant for the basketball team under head coach Ray Eddy.

Later years

He served as general manager for the Baltimore Bullets. from June 1963 through May 1965; the Bullets recorded an overall record of 68–92 (.425) and reached the NBA Western Division Finals in the 1964–65 season. In 1977, he was inducted into the

Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in New Castle, Indiana. While it honors men and women associated with high school, college, and professional basketball in Indiana, an emphasis is placed on the athlete's high ...

. In 1993, at age 68, he was named to the named to the Indiana All-Stars, for the 1942–43 season. The All-Stars, an all High School Senior team, are named at the conclusion of the school year; the team originated in 1939. However, World War II, kept a team from being named and staging the annual 2-game series with the State of Kentucky. The

Indianapolis Star Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

BAA/NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, Paul 1925 births 1998 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players from Indiana New York Knicks players People from Jasper, Indiana Philadelphia Warriors players Purdue Boilermakers baseball coaches Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball coaches Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball players Shooting guards Small forwards Toronto Huskies draft picks