Joe Hoover

Robert Joseph Hoover

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 175 lb.
• High School Pomona (CA) High School
• Debut April 21, 1943
• Final Game September 23, 1945
• Born April 15, 1915 in Brawley, CA USA
• Died September 2, 1965 in Los Angeles, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Infielder Joe Hoover spent ten seasons in professional baseball from 1937 to 1946. Seven of the seasons were in the minors and the remaining three, 1943, 1944 and 1945 were with the Detroit Tigers in the major leagues. Joe was pretty much the Tigers' everyday shortstop in 1943 and 1944 but wound up splitting the duties with Skeeter Webb in the Briggs Stadium team's World Series run in 1945.

Hoover hit at a .243 average in 338 games on 301 base hits in 1,238 at-bats plus fielding the shortstop position at a .937 percentage in his three-year run with the Detroit club. Joe appeared in one game in the 1945 World Series and had one hit in three at-bats for his contribution to the Tigers' World Championship.

Hoover spent six years in the minors working his way to the big leagues, with five of those seasons being with the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League. Joe had two very good seasons on his way to the show. In 1939, while with the Stars, he hit .298 with 6 home runs. Again with the Stars in 1942, Joe had probably his best year, when he hit at a .327 clip with 11 home runs to his credit.

Joe gave his game one more chance, suiting up with the San Francisco Seals, of the Pacific Coast League in 1946. Joe was 31 years old, a step slower, and appeared in 87 games for the Seals, hitting a hard .200 and he called it a career. During his minor league run, he had appeared in 876 games, went to bat 2,968 times and managed a .267 career batting average. He also played the shortstop slot at a .929 fielding percentage.

After baseball, Hoover owned and operated a delicatessen in Los Angeles, CA. He died from an apparent heart attack on September 2, 1965 and was buried in Banning, CA. Robert Joseph Hoover died at fifty years of age.

Notable Achievement

• Won a World Series with the Detroit Tigers in 1945