Eddie Hoffman, father of 2 major leaguers, dies

Longtime Anaheim resident Edward Leonard Hoffman, a former professional singer and the father of two Major League Baseball players, died Sunday at 82 after a four-month bout with pancreatic cancer. Hoffman is survived by his wife of 42 years, Marguerite, sons Greg, 40, Glenn, 36, and Trevor, 27, and four grandchildren, Tyler, Sarah, Stacy and Sabrina. Hoffman's memorial service is at 1 p.m. today at Anaheim's St. Michael's Episcopal Church, 311 South St. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking donations be made to The Jimmy Fund, a cancerfighting fund established by the Boston Red Sox. "He never played golf, never had poker buddies, never stayed out drinking late at night. He had no hobbies, because he was the epitome of a family man and his family was his hobby," said Greg Hoffman, the former boys basketball coach at Western High. "Everything revolved around his three sons." Born April 13, 1912, Eddie Hoffman spent his formative years in Minnesota. He was a trained opera singer and enjoyed an exciting life of worldwide concert touring with other performers, including Martha Raye. In the early Las Vegas era, Eddie Hoffman and the Royal Guards performed contemporary songs at hotels such as the Frontier and Riviera.