Roger Michael Hoffman's Obituary
Roger “Hawk” Hoffman of Tavares, FL (formerly Bluffton, OH and Eshbach, PA), died on Sept. 1st, 2024. Roger was born on Feb. 1st, 1952, to the late Roger and Dorothy (Fronheiser) Hoffman.
Survivors include the love of his life, his wife Sandra “Sam” Hoffman (Karhoff) who he was married to for 50 years. Two children, Andrea Mahone of Lima, OH and Michael (Cari) Hoffman of Nashville, TN and 4 grandchildren, Milan and Myles Mahone and Monroe and Reese Hoffman.
Roger graduated from Boyertown H.S. in PA in 1970 and went to Bluffton College from 1971-73. He then started his career at Peerless Glove Co. in Bluffton, OH, where he was the plant manager until he retired in in 2018 after 45 years.
He never played a sport he didn’t like but was an avid baseball and softball player. He was a 3-time Ches Mont baseball champion at shortstop for the Boyertown Bears from 1968-70 and batted .500 his senior year as the captain of the team and led the league in batting. Roger was also a member of the Boyertown American Legion Post 471 baseball team that won many league and regional championships along with the 1969 PA American Legion State Baseball Championship. He was both a PA East All Star in 1970 in Connie Mack Stadium and the East and West All Star in Veteran’s Stadium in Philadelphia starting as shortstop. He also played on Boyertown’s basketball team from 1968-70 and was captain and leading scorer his senior season.
When Roger attended Bluffton College, he started as a walk on at shortstop his freshman year and helped lead the Beavers to some of the best teams in their history, along with the defensive stats that still stand today. The 1973 team still has the highest win percentage in the history of the university. After leaving college in 1973, he started his slow pitch softball career that led to many league championships, including the 1980 Class A ASA State Slow Pitch championship. He was selected as one of the top 20 all time softball players in the Tri County area in and around Lima, OH. He also made the cut to play for the Cincinnati Suds Pro softball team but turned it down to start his work career and a family.
Roger also took up bowling and had numerous 279 games, a few 299 games and a 300 game, with a lot of 700 series but never the exclusive 800 series. Roger was a member and President of the Lima Bowling Association for years and participated in close to 25 National ABC Bowling Tournaments around the country. After bowling, he took up bass fishing and was a member of the Findlay Fishing Club in Findlay, OH and was Sec/Treasure for over 15 years along with being a member of the Northside Bassmasters of Indian Lake, OH., where he was also president. His largest bass was a certified 14 pounder he caught in Florida. Roger will always be remembered for saying “A friend you make on a baseball field or basketball court is a friend you’ll have for life.” This is very true because if you knew him, you know how many former teammates he’s kept in contact with his entire life.
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