Background
Hoch was born in Woodside, Delaware, in 1887.
Hoch was born in Woodside, Delaware, in 1887.
He attended Kutztown State Normal School (now Kutztown University of Pennsylvania), where he played baseball in 1905 and 1906, and is a member of that school"s Athletics Hall of Fame.
He pitched in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies and Saint Louis Browns in 1908, 1914, and 1915. Hoch was 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighed 165 pounds. He started his professional baseball career in 1907 with the Tri-State League"s Wilmington Peaches.
The following season, he made his major league debut for the Philadelphia Phillies on April 16, 1908.
Hoch started three games for Philadelphia and went 2–1 with a 2.77 earned run average. However, he did not stay on the roster and spent most of the season in the Tri-State League, where he went 11–15.
Hoch played in the New York State League from 1910 to 1913. In August 1913, Hoch was purchased by the American League"s Saint Louis Browns.
He appeared in 15 games for them in 1914 and went 0–2 with a 3.00 European Research Area. In 1915, his European Research Area rose to 7.20, and he made his last MLB appearance on June 24.
Unlike many ballplayers of his era, Hoch was educated and attended Dickinson Law School in the offseason. He was nicknamed "Schoolmaster" because of this. After Hoch"s baseball career ended in 1915, he became a lawyer in Delaware and practiced until 1962.
Among his clients was inventor Alfred Lawson.
Hoch died in Lewes, Delaware, in 1981 and was buried in Townsend Cemetery.
