Ho Hoffman gets nod from Akron Softball Hall of Fame

AKRON — Ho Hoffman never had a choice. The Wadsworth resident was born into a family where his father was once offered a contract to play baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics by Connie Mack. While family obligations kept his dad from playing in the Major Leagues, Hoffman took a liking to softball early. Because of that love affair, the 82-year-old former Gazette freelance writer was inducted into the Akron Softball Hall of Fame over the weekend. "I just keep remembering the guys that I played with that aren't with us anymore, guys that are in the hall of fame that I played with and was friends with," Hoffman said. "It was something the family could enjoy." Hoffman, who was a middle infielder, took delight in the game at the age of 16, when in 1955 he started playing fastpitch for Evangelical United Brethren. Whether it was playing for Falls Music, Poda's All-Stars, South End Tavern, WBCA, Varsity Drive In, S&S, M&C, Rimer Road, Acme, St. Augustine in fastpitch or for Barberton's Anthe's, Juvenile Court Center and The Gazette in slowpitch, Hoffman took as much delight in being around others as he did stepping between the lines. "It was the people," Hoffman said. "It was being around friends. People have friends that they play cards with. They go over each other's houses, but it was the guys we played with and the places we went." Hoffman estimates he's played in more than 35 states in various tournaments and championships. What he doesn't say is just how great he was in a career that spanned 64 years before he finally hung up the cleats in 2019. Usually a leadoff hitter, Hoffman always hit between .360 and .420 and stole an estimated 1,800 bases in 900 fastpitch games. Former manager John Swain nicknamed him "scoop" and called him the best infielder he ever saw. "People tell me that I have had a lot of great experiences," Hoffman said. "I tell them I've hit home runs to win games and hit into double plays in the bottom of the seventh to lose them. I've made diving catches to win games and I've booted the ball from here to Rittman to lose them. Sunday was the recognition that it was all worthwhile." What made the night even more special was the timing of his son Marc Hoffman going into the Greater Akron Baseball Hall of Fame in September. Marc Hoffman was an All-Ohioan for Wadsworth, Pioneer Conference MVP and Gazette MVP. He played on a Wadsworth team that won four consecutive Ohio Hot Stove state championships, then gave up baseball when his daughter was born. Thirty years later, in 2019, Marc Hoffman returned to play in the Roy Hobbs World Series in Ft. Myers, Fla., where he hit .538 in seven games and allowed no runs in two pitching appearances "That was fantastic," Ho Hoffman said. "We were all at Marc's induction, and then they were all at mine. It was a great family gathering to say, 'Hey, look what we accomplished.'" Contact Brad Bournival at bournival929@gmail.com.