Early Career
As a youngster Hoak was a professional boxer, but pursued a baseball career after losing seven straight knockouts. He broke into the Major Leagues in 1954 after a stint in the United States Marines and also having played one season in Cuba. Legend has it that during his one season in Cuba, Hoak actually batted against Fidel Castro, who was a law student at the time. According to The Second Fireside Book of Baseball, Castro and some friends commandeered the park where Hoak's team was playing. Castro took some warmup pitches, then turned to face Hoak and called out the Spanish equivalent of "Batter up!" and pitched. He was wild, and threw several pitches near Hoak's head. After a few "dusters," Hoak turned to the umpire and said, "Get that idiot out of the game!" The umpire obliged, and spoke to some park policemen, who marched Castro off the field.
During his two seasons with the Dodgers, Hoak shared third base duties with Jackie Robinson and Billy Cox. In 1955 his Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in the World Series to win their only championship in Brooklyn. Hoak played third base in place of Robinson in the seventh and deciding game of that Series—the only World Series game Robinson did not play in during his career.
After the season, Hoak was traded to the Chicago Cubs. In 1956 Hoak batted .215 with 5 home runs and 37 RBIs. He also set a National League record by striking out six times in one game, a 17-inning marathon on May 2nd, won by the visiting New York Giants.
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