HOFFMAN, HUGO C.
Ashland Gazette Feb. 10, 1977
FUNERAL HELD SATURDAY for 1930 State Pentathlon Champion

The Ashland funeral of Hugo C. Hoffman, 65, of Long Beach, Calif., who died at Long Beach 
Sunday, Jan. 30, after a long illness was held Saturday afternoon, Feb. 5, at the Ashland 
United Methodist church. An earlier service was held at Long Beach, Feb. 2. 
The Rev. Richard Ludden officiated. 

Mrs. Leland Wagner was organist, and Lloyd Edwards sang "In the Garden" and 
"How Great Thou Art." Pallbearers were Clifford Keiser, Edward Keiser, Lester W. Schultz, 
Lloyd Martin, Emory Sherman, and Leland Wagner. Burial was in the Ashland Cemetery. 
Marcy Mortuary made the Ashland arrangements.

Hugo Cornelius Hoffman, 10th of the 11 children of John and Louise Hoffman, was 
born in Cass County Dec. 3, 1911. He attended rural school through the eighth 
grade, and entered Ashland high school in the fall of 1926, graduating in 1930. 
He was one of the most outstanding ever to go through school here and many of 
his closest friends and classmates have acclaimed him as the greatest Ashland athlete. 
He was active in all sports and climaxed his prep career by winning the state pentathlon 
(discus, shot put, javelin, low hurdles, and 100-yard dash) in the spring of 1930.

During his football career at Ashland high school there were no athletic conferences 
as we now know them, and Ashland played such schools as Omaha North (Ashland won 6-0), 
Omaha Deaf, Omaha Business College, University Place, Havelock, Bethany, Council Bluffs T. J.; 
Fremont, York, and Seward. Ashland defeated most of these schools at least once. 

Hugo made 305 points in football for Ashland high school, and scored all 52 points in Ashland's 
52-0 win over Wahoo in 1928. In 1929 he maintained a 47-yard punting average. It was 
estimated he gained more than 3000 yards for the "Bluejackets" in his Ashland high school 
years. He was noted as an inspiring leader as captain, offensive blocker, defensive back, field 
goal kicker, and was a "vicious" tackler.

The Omaha World-Herald named him as All State halfback both in 1928 and 1929. 
Basketball went into district tournament competition in those days, and he helped 
them lead Ashland to a district tournament championship in 1929. After graduating 
from high school, Mr. Hoffman married Gwendolyn Harrison of Memphis and moved 
to Lead, S. D., where he worked in the Homestake Gold Mines. 

At Lead, he starred with some of the outstanding semi-pro baseball teams of the Thirties. 
Some of the Hall of Fame baseball players he played against were, Satchel Page, Grover 
Cleveland Alexander, and Josh Gibson.

Hugo also gained a reputation as an amateur boxer and was employed as a sparring 
partner against many ranking professional boxers. In 1935, he entered the University 
of Nebraska and played football and baseball. An injury in 1936 kept him from playing 
varsity football until the 1937 season. He was leading hitter on the University baseball 
team during this time. The Hoffman family moved to Long Beach in 1942, and Mr. Hoffman 
starred on semi-professional baseball teams in the Southern California area. Later, he 
coached youth football and baseball teams.

The Long Beach semi-pro baseball teams he coached were city champions between 
1960 and 1963. He worked at the naval shipyard during the war and became a building 
and repair contractor with his brother, Carl after the war. He was seriously injured in 
an automobile accident in 1966 and underwent a series of operations on his vertebrae 
afterward. 

Survivors include his wife, Gwendolyn; one son, John F. Hoffman; one daughter, 
Mrs. Jeanette L. Effinger; four grandchildren, Robert and Tonya Effinger and 
John F. II and Tammy Hoffman; two brothers, Bion A. Hoffman of Houston, Tex., 
and Carl Hoffman of Long Beach; and two sisters, Lola L. Bell of Austin, Tex., and 
Irene M. Sindt of Lincoln. One son, Gary Hugo, died in May 1941.