Biography
Born in Ossining, New York, he pitched for the New York Highlanders (renamed the Yankees in 1913) from 1911–1913 and for the St. Louis Browns in 1915.
Hoff made his major league debut on September 6, 1911. Pitching against the Detroit Tigers, he struck out the first batter he faced, Ty Cobb. In later years, Chet recalled that this was the highlight of his career.
Although he only appeared in 23 games and amassed a record of just 2 wins and 4 losses, Hoff is best remembered for being the oldest living ex-major leaguer at the time of his death in Daytona Beach, Florida at age 107. He was the longest-lived former professional athlete ever. This record may have been broken by negro-leaguer Silas Simmons (who is believed to have been 109 or possibly 111 at his death), but Hoff remains the longest-lived person to have played in Major League Baseball. Hoff died of complications resulting from an accidental fall.
At the time of his death, he was the last surviving player to have played during the dead-ball era, the historically low-scoring period of Major League Baseball prior to 1920.
Read more about this topic: Red Hoff
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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—James Boswell (1740–95)