Paul David Hofer (born May 13, 1952) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for six seasons with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford. The first was the Ole ...

. He was a part of the 49ers'

Super Bowl XVI Super Bowl XVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

—winning team. Known for his hard and relentless running style, Hofer was a fan favorite despite being on poor 49ers teams in the mid to late 1970s. Hofer was a brutal, attacking runner who suffered serious knee injuries that ultimately shortened his career. Hofer saw limited duty during the 1981 season but was placed on injured reserve before season's end; he was unable to play in the playoffs or the Super Bowl. He retired soon thereafter.

References

1952 births Living people American football running backs Ole Miss Rebels football players San Francisco 49ers players Players of American football from Memphis, Tennessee 20th-century American sportsmen {{runningback-1950s-stub