From the Riviera to the Dodgers: Tom Hoffarth’s Love for the Game
Riviera resident Tom Hoffarth was born a Dodger fan. Raised in Hawthorne, his mother always had the game on and the “Boys in Blue” were a frequent topic of conversation. It’s no wonder then that Tom veered toward a career in sports. An award-winning sports journalist, Tom has more than forty years of experience writing for such news outlets as Southern California News Group, the Los Angeles Times, Hollywood Reporter, Angeles News, National Catholic Reporter, Los Angeles Business Journal, and Sports Business Journal. He also coauthored Tales from the USC Trojans Sideline: A Collection of the Greatest Trojans Stories Ever Told.
Tom Hoffarth’s newest book, Perfect Eloquence: An Appreciation of Vin Scully, pays tribute to one of baseball’s most iconic voices, a man many consider the best sports broadcaster who ever lived.
“I had the great honor of interviewing Vin on numerous occasions over 30 years and really got to know him as a person,” said Tom Hoffarth. “I saved my notes and audiotapes from our conversations and when he passed in 2022 I wanted to pay tribute to who he was both behind the mic and beyond the broadcast booth.”
Tom Hoffarth reached out to those who knew Vin well, including fellow broadcasters, historians, players, journalists, celebrities, and others connected to the game of baseball. The resulting 67 essays—one for each season Vin called Dodger games—touches on topics such as family and faith, humility and sincerity, kindness and friendship, and history and patriotism. One of the essayists, former Dodgers general manager Fred Claire, grew up in the Hollywood Riviera on Paseo de Granada (his father helped start Riviera Little League).
“The fact there are 67 essays and Vin called games for 67 seasons was pure serendipity and not intentional,” says Tom Hoffarth. “The last essay submitted was by Bud Selig on the day the book was due to the publisher, and it was then I realized the remembrances aligned perfectly with Vin’s years with the Dodgers.“
Born in 1927, Vin Scully called games for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1950 through 2016. A month after Vin’s retirement, President Barack Obama presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony.
“It’s a wonderful feeling to be a bridge to the past and to unite generations,” Vin has said. “The sport of baseball does that, and I am just a part of it. “
Tom Hoffarth and his wife, Rhonda, met in kindergarten and have lived in the Riviera since 2001.
“We had friends in the Riviera and knew it was a great community, so when we toured what is now our house and saw the views of the ocean, beach and downtown L.A. it was an easy decision,” said Tom Hoffarth, who along with Rhonda helped found the fair-trade store Ten Thousand Villages in the Riviera Village.
“We were fortunate to be able to walk to the store when we volunteered there, as well as Rocketship Park when our kids were small and the trails in PV.”
A Sports Illustrated Best Sports Book of 2024 pick, Perfect Eloquence: An Appreciation of Vin Scully is available in local bookstores and online at Amazon. You can learn more about the book at vinscullyappreciationbook.com.
