Inducted 2001. All-State Football Player, Played Briefly at University of Notre Dame. Class of 1945.
Hoebing used his success as a prep football player at Notre Dame to go on to accept a scholarship to play football at the University of Notre Dame, which at the time was one of the country’s most dominant college football programs.
Hoebing, a 1945 graduate of Notre Dame, was a three-year starter in football and also played two years of basketball. He was the team captain on the 1944 football team that went on to post a 7-1 record. The 1944 Golden Streaks lost their last game of the season to undefeated Peoria Spalding. QND defeated QHS 14-6 on Sept. 29, 1944, the first time QND had won a game in the intra-city series since it started in 1936.
Hoebing, who was 6-foot-3 and 184 pounds, played left end on offense. He scored seven touchdowns and eight extra points. He was named to the Chicago Daily News All-State third team and was nominated to the Champaign News-Gazette All-State team.
Several universities, including Illinois and Yale, recruited Hoebing, but he chose to attend the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish, under Frank Leahy, won 85 percent of their games during the 1940s. Hoebing played in two varsity games as a freshman before he was drafted into the military service on Oct. 30, 1945. He was named the captain of the U.S. Naval Air Technical Training Center Hellcats team of Millington, Tenn., where he played for two years.
Hoebing was employed for 23 years at Davis Cleaver Co. in Quincy as a national sales manager. Now retired, he lives in Longwood, Fla., with his wife Marjorie. They have four children — Cherie, Bob Jr., Ted and Brad — and three grandchildren.
First of all, thanks to the QND Hall of Fame Committee. You had to go back into ancient history to find my name. Thanks to all of my teammates (we only had 37) — the toughest group ever. A special tribute to the following deceased members who played an integral part in our success — Bill Killen, Jack Finigan, Ken Klingele, Dick Meissen, Jim Tushaus and Jim Finigan. Finally, a very special tribute to Peter V. Affre, our coach and later a great friend. Pete did it all with occasional help from Fr. Will and a look-in from time to time from Mart Heinen. Pete made one mistake in 1944. He scheduled one game too many — our last game, the loss to Spalding. Go Raiders.