title: George Gobel

text: Gobel and his business manager David P. O'Malley formed a production company, Gomalco, a composite of their last names, Gobel and O'Malley. This company also produced the first four years (1957–61) of the 1957–63 television series "Leave It to Beaver".


title: George Gobel

text: The centerpiece of Gobel's comedy show was his monologue about his supposed past situations and experiences, with stories and sketches allegedly about his real-life wife, Alice (nicknamed "Spooky Old Alice"), played by actress Jeff Donnell (for the first four years of the series' run). Gobel's hesitant, almost shy delivery and penchant for tangled digressions were the chief sources of comedy, more important than the actual content of the stories. His monologues popularized several catchphrases, notably "Well, I'll be a dirty bird" (spoken by the Kathy Bates character in the 1990 film "Misery"), "You can't hardly get them like that no more" and "Well then there now" (spoken by James Dean during a brief imitation of Gobel in the 1955 film "Rebel Without a Cause" and as part of the closing lyric in Perry Como's 1956 hit record "Juke Box Baby").


title: George Gobel

text: Gobel's show used some of television's top writers of the era: Hal Kanter, Jack Brooks and Norman Lear. Peggy King was a regular on the series as a vocalist, and the guest stars ranged from Shirley MacLaine and Evelyn Rudie to Bob Feller, Phyllis Avery and Vampira.


title: George Gobel

text: Gobel labeled himself "Lonesome George," and the nickname stuck for the rest of his career. The TV show sometimes included a segment in which Gobel appeared with a guitar, started to sing, then got sidetracked into a story, with the song always left unfinished after fitful starts and stops, a comedy approach (akin to one used by Victor Borge) that prefigured the Smothers Brothers. He had a special version of the Gibson L-5 archtop guitar constructed featuring diminished dimensions of neck scale and body depth, befitting his own smaller stature. Several dozen of this "L-5CT" or "George Gobel" model were produced in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He also played the harmonica.


title: George Gobel

text: In 1957, three U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bombers made the first nonstop round-the-world flight by turbojet aircraft. One of the bombers was called "Lonesome George." The crew later appeared on Gobel's primetime television show and recounted the 45 hours and 19 minute mission. Lonesome George, the non-breeding Galapagos tortoise that was the last of its subspecies and that died in June 2012, was also named after Gobel.


title: George Gobel

text: From 1958 to 1961, Gobel appeared in Las Vegas at the El Rancho Vegas and in Reno at the Mapes Hotel. In 1961, George Gobel and Sam Levene starred as Erwin and Patsy in "Let It Ride", an original Broadway musical based on the 1935 original Broadway play "Three Men on a Horse" (1935) co-authored by George Abbott and John Cecil Holm, which had an initial Broadway run of 835 performances, also starring Sam Levene as Patsy. With a book written by Abram S. Ginnes and a score by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, "Let It Ride" was directed by Stanley Prager, then a successful TV director of the popular sitcom "Car 54, Where Are You?". "Let It Ride" opened at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre October 12, 1961 and closed December 9, 1961, after 68 performances and one preview. Critics compared the show unfavorably to "How to Succeed in Business ...". He continued to work club dates and performed in many of the Playboy Club properties.


title: George Gobel

text: George Gobel was also a skilled guitar player, and as such was issued a specially designed electric guitar in his name commissioned by the Gibson guitar company in 1959; "The George Gobel Model". Gibson chose "George Gobel" as a model name, as Gobel was one of the most well known television personalities at the time with a nationally broadcast show five nights a week. Gibson believed its new model guitar would enjoy greater exposure on national television, as opposed to naming the model after a lesser known jazz musician, for example. Gobel accompanied himself with this guitar on a number of his comedy routines.


title: George Gobel

text: Gobel was a guest on various TV programs, including: "The Andy Williams Show";"The Red Skelton Show"; "The Dean Martin Show"; "The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford"; "The Bing Crosby Show"; "The Dinah Shore Show"; "Death Valley Days"; "Wagon Train"; "The Carol Burnett Show"; "The Donny & Marie Show"; Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show" & made cameos on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In". An episode of "My Three Sons" starring Fred MacMurray in December, 1960 was titled "Lonesome George", in which Gobel played himself on the episode. He appeared on "F Troop" as amateur inventor Henry Terkel in the 1966 episode "Go for Broke."


title: George Gobel

text: In an often-replayed segment from a 1969 episode of "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", Gobel followed Bob Hope and Dean Martin, walking onstage with a plastic cup with an unidentified drink. Gobel ribbed Carson about coming on last and having to follow major stars Hope and Martin. He quipped to Carson, "Did you ever get the feeling that the world was a tuxedo and you were a pair of brown shoes?", to which Carson, Hope, Martin, and the audience came unglued with laughter. After the laughter died down, Carson asked Gobel about his career in World War II as a fighter pilot. Gobel feigned bewilderment at why people laugh when he says that he spent the war in Oklahoma, pointing out with mock pride that no Japanese plane ever got past Tulsa deep in the center of the continental U.S. Gobel also began to get some unexpected laughs, being unaware that Dean Martin had begun flicking his cigarette ashes into Gobel's drink. Observing all of this, Carson finally asked rhetorically, "Exactly what time did I lose control of the show?!"


title: George Gobel

text: Gobel had employed the tuxedo joke at least once before, on the June 22, 1957 episode of his show. The comedian complained that the TV director and crew treated him: "...as if they were a tuxedo and I was a pair of brown shoes." On that occasion, the gag received a respectable, but not overwhelming, response.


title: George Gobel

text: In 1972 the television game show "Hollywood Squares", hosted by Peter Marshall, needed a substitute for its resident folksy comedian Cliff Arquette (Charley Weaver), who suffered a stroke. George Gobel was recruited, and he sat in Arquette's chair during Arquette's convalescence. After Arquette died in 1974, Gobel became a resident panelist. He was also the voice of Father Mouse in the 1974 Christmas special "Twas the Night Before Christmas", and sang the song "Give Your Heart a Try" in that production. He also made a guest appearance on "Hee Haw" in 1976. In the early 1980s Gobel played Otis Harper, Jr., the mayor of Harper Valley in the television series based on the film "Harper Valley PTA".


title: George Gobel

text: When ratings soared on "The George Gobel Show" (rated in the top ten of 1954–55), Paramount Pictures promoted Gobel as its new comedy star, casting him as the lead in "The Birds and the Bees" (1956), a remake of "The Lady Eve" (1941) featuring David Niven playing a third-billed supporting role under Gobel and leading lady Mitzi Gaynor. In 1956 Paramount was preparing a biography of veteran comedian Buster Keaton, and Keaton wanted George Gobel to portray him. When musical-comedy star Donald O'Connor became available, Paramount signed him for the film, titled "The Buster Keaton Story" (1957).


title: George Gobel

text: However, Gobel's TV success did not translate to the big screen. Gobel's "The Birds and the Bees" performed so poorly at the box office that release was delayed on his second movie, "I Married a Woman", filmed in 1956 by RKO Radio Pictures but not released until 1958. Although scripted by Goodman Ace, it also resulted in disappointing ticket sales, and Gobel's career as a movie star came to an abrupt end. He settled into a succession of TV guest star appearances and did not return to movie screens until two decades later, as a character actor in Joan Rivers' "Rabbit Test" (1978), followed by "The Day It Came to Earth" (1979) and "Ellie" (1984). He appeared in nine TV movies during the 1970s and 1980s.


title: George Gobel

text: Gobel was considered for the voice of Winnie-the-Pooh by Walt Disney, but turned it down after reading the books and finding Pooh to be "an awful bore."


title: George Gobel

text: George Gobel died February 24, 1991, approximately one month after undergoing surgery. This followed a series of strokes which left him unable to walk. Doctors had hoped the surgery would improve his mobility. He is interred in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California.


title: Order of the Chrysanthemum

text: Apart from the Imperial Family, only seven Japanese citizens have ever been decorated with the collar in their lifetimes; the last such award was to former Prime Minister Saionji Kinmochi in 1928. Eight others have been posthumously decorated with the collar; the last such award was to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022. Today, only the reigning Emperor holds this dignity as sovereign of the order; however, exceptions are made for foreign heads of state, who can be awarded the collar in friendship.


title: Order of the Chrysanthemum

text: The grand cordon is the highest possible honour a Japanese citizen can be awarded during his or her lifetime. Aside from members of the Imperial Family, 53 Japanese citizens have been decorated with the grand cordon; of these, only 23 were living at the time of receipt.


title: Order of the Chrysanthemum

text: The "collar" of the order is made of gold, and features the kanji for "Meiji", in classic form, indicating the era of the order's establishment. It is decorated with gold chrysanthemum blossoms and green-enamelled leaves.


title: Order of the Chrysanthemum

text: The sash of the "grand cordon" of the order is red with dark blue border stripes. It is worn on the right shoulder.


title: Order of the Chrysanthemum

text: The "star" of the order is similar to the badge, but in silver, without the chrysanthemum suspension, and with an eight-pointed gilt medallion (with white-enamelled rays and red-enamelled sun disc) placed at the centre. It is worn on the left chest.


title: Order of the Chrysanthemum

text: The "badge" of the order is a four-pointed gilt badge with white-enamelled rays; the centre bears a red enamelled sun disc. On each of the four corners of the badge is a yellow-enamelled chrysanthemum blossom with green-enamelled chrysanthemum leaves. The badge is suspended on a yellow-enamelled chrysanthemum, either on the collar or on the grand cordon.


title: Panmunjom Declaration

text: The Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Reunification of the Korean Peninsula was adopted between the Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, and the President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, on 27 April 2018, during the 2018 inter-Korean Summit on the South Korean side of the Peace House in the Joint Security Area.


title: Panmunjom Declaration

text: According to the declaration, the governments of North Korea and South Korea agreed to cooperate on officially ending the Korean War and the Korean conflict, beginning a new era of peace and sharing commitments in ending divisions and confrontation by approaching a new era of national reconciliation, peace, reunification and prosperity and improvements to inter-Korean communication and relations.


title: Panmunjom Declaration

text: This declaration agreed that both sides would "make active efforts to seek the support and cooperation of the international community for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula".


title: Þingvellir

text: Þingvellir (, anglicised as Thingvellir) was the site of the Alþing, the annual parliament of Iceland from the year 930 until the last session held at in 1798. Since 1881, the parliament has been located within Alþingishúsið in Reykjavík.


title: Þingvellir

text: The name is derived from the Old Norse (), from (“thing, assembly”) and (“field”), meaning "assembly fields". Compare the English "thing" and "weald" (“Thingweald”) from Anglo-Saxon and . The site takes its name from ("Althing"), the national parliament of Iceland, which was founded at in 930 and held its sessions there until 1798. A "thing" was a form of governing assembly found in Germanic societies, and a tradition that endures to this day in one form or another across Northern Europe.


title: Þingvellir

text: Although the name is plural, the older form is singular, and the modern singular form can still be heard.


title: Þingvellir

text: The name is most commonly anglicised as "Thingvellir", and might appear as "Tingvellir", "Thingvalla" or "Tingvalla" in other languages. The spelling "Pingvellir" is also seen, although the letter “p” does not correspond to the letter “þ” (thorn), which is pronounced , like the "th" in "thirst".


title: Þingvellir

text: Dingwall and Tingwall in Scotland, Thingwall in England, Tynwald on the Isle of Man, Dinklage in Germany, and Tingvoll in Norway bear names of the same root and meaning.


title: Þingvellir

text: became a national park as a result of legislation passed in 1928 to protect the remains of the parliament site, thus creating the first national park in Iceland. The park was decreed "a protected national shrine for all Icelanders, the perpetual property of the Icelandic nation under the preservation of parliament, never to be sold or mortgaged."


title: Þingvellir

text: According to the Book of Settlements (), the settlement of Iceland began in 874, when the Norwegian chieftain became the first permanent Norwegian settler on the island. Over the next centuries, people of Norse and Celtic origin settled in Iceland. Early on, district assemblies were formed, but as the population grew, there was a need for a general assembly. The descendants of Ingólfur who dominated the region of southwest Iceland had become the most powerful family in the country, and other chieftains felt a need for a general assembly to limit their power.


title: Þingvellir

text: The foundation of the Icelandic parliament is said to be the founding of the nation of Iceland, and the first parliamentary proceedings in the summer of 930 laid the ground for a common cultural heritage and national identity. played a central role in the history of the country, and its history runs almost parallel with the history of the Icelandic Commonwealth.


title: Þingvellir

text: The (assembly) at was Iceland's supreme legislative and judicial authority from its establishment in 930 until 1271. The or Law Rock was the focal point of the and a natural platform for holding speeches. The Lawspeaker, elected for three years at a time, presided over the assembly and recited the law of the land. Before the law was written down, he was expected to recite it from memory on the over the course of three summers along with the complete assembly procedures every summer. Inauguration and dissolution of the assembly took place at the , where rulings made by the Law Council were announced, the calendar was confirmed, legal actions were brought and other announcements made which concerned the entire nation. Anyone attending the assembly was entitled to present his case on important issues from the Lögberg.


title: Þingvellir

text: The Law Council served as both parliament and supreme court. Laws were passed and approved there, and rulings made on points of law. The Law Council appointed members of the Fifth Court (a kind of appellate court) and the Lawspeaker, and took part in the election of the bishop. Unlike the , the Law Council was a closed body in which only certain people enjoyed full rights: chieftains who held the office of , their and later also bishops. However, everyone at the assembly was entitled to watch and listen to the Law Council at work.


title: Þingvellir

text: From the earliest times until the 15th century, the Law Council met at on the east bank of , but when the river changed its course around 1500, the council was moved to an islet in the river. In 1594, the Law Council was relocated to the foot of the ancient Law Rock, where it remained until the was finally transferred from it in 1798.


title: Þingvellir

text: The was Iceland's legislative and chief judicial authority for the duration of the Commonwealth, until 1271. Executive power was in the hands of the chieftains and parties to individual cases. This proved to be quite an adequate arrangement for as long as the balance of power remained, but flaws emerged when it was disrupted.


title: Þingvellir

text: In the final decades of the Commonwealth, there were clashes between chieftain families, which resulted in Iceland coming under the Norwegian crown. Executive power was strengthened under this new order, while legislative and judicial authority at first remained in the hands of the , but was gradually transferred to the Norwegian and later the Danish rulers, until in 1662 when the King of Denmark became the absolute monarch of Iceland.


title: Þingvellir

text: was the centre of Icelandic culture. Every year during the Commonwealth period, people would flock to from all over the country, sometimes numbering in the thousands.


title: Þingvellir

text: They set up temporary dwellings ( , pl. ) with walls of turf and rock and temporary roofing of homespun cloth, and stayed in them for the two weeks of the assembly. There were no permanent buildings on apart from a farm and, later, two churches.


title: Þingvellir

text: Although the duties of the assembly were the main reason for going there, ordinary people gathered at for a wide variety of reasons. Merchants, sword-sharpeners, and tanners would sell their goods and services, entertainers performed, and ale-makers brewed drinks for the assembly guests. News was told from distant parts; games and feasts were held. Young people met to make their plans, no less than leading national figures and experts in law. Itinerant farmhands looked for work and vagrants begged. was a meeting place for everyone in Iceland, laying the foundation for the language and literature that have been a prominent part of people's lives right up to the present day.


title: Þingvellir

text: During the 19th century, emerged as a nationalist symbol. According to Icelandic political scientist , "Thingvellir can be likened to a church or building which serves as a pilgrimage destination and as a site for the nation-state’s ritual ceremonies."


title: Þingvellir

text: The continental drift between the North American and Eurasian Plates can be clearly seen in the cracks or faults which traverse the region, the largest one, , being a veritable canyon. This also causes the often measurable earthquakes in the area.


title: Þingvellir

text: Some of the rifts are full of clear water. One, , was bridged for the occasion of the visit of King Frederick VIII of Denmark in 1907. On this occasion, visitors began to throw coins from the bridge into the fissure, a tradition based on European legends. The bottom has become littered with sparkling coins, and the rift is now better known as , or "coin fissure".


title: Þingvellir

text: Together with the waterfall Gullfoss and the geysers of , is part of a group of the most famous sights of Iceland, the Golden Circle.


title: Þingvellir

text: Because of its natural environment, Þingvellir has been a subject in the works of a number of Icelandic painters, including and . The National Gallery of Iceland owns more than 150 paintings by that have as their subject. grew popular among artists because not only for its natural environment, but also because it was close to the capital of Iceland, and thus relatively inexpensive to travel there.


title: Þingvellir

text: National Park is popular with tourists, and is one of the three key attractions within the famous Golden Circle. There is a visitor centre, where visitors can obtain interpretation of the history and nature of . There is an information centre near the camping grounds. There are hiking trails, such as the Execution Trail and the nearby Leggjabrjótur . Scuba diving has also become popular at Silfra Lake as the continental drift between the tectonic plates made it wide enough for divers to enjoy unparalleled visibility.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Trevor William Hoffman (born October 13, 1967) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played 18 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1993 to 2010. A long-time closer, he pitched for the Florida Marlins, San Diego Padres, and Milwaukee Brewers, including more than 15 years for the Padres. Hoffman was the major leagues' first player to reach the 500- and 600-save milestones, and was the all-time saves leader from 2006 until 2011. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018. Hoffman currently serves as senior advisor for baseball operations for the Padres.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Hoffman played shortstop collegiately at the University of Arizona and was drafted in the 11th round by the Cincinnati Reds. After not having much success batting, he was converted to a pitcher, as he was able to throw up to 95 miles per hour (MPH). The Marlins acquired Hoffman in the 1992 expansion draft, and he pitched for Florida until he was traded to the Padres, mid-season in 1993, in a deal that sent star Gary Sheffield to the Marlins. Hoffman recorded 20 saves in 1994 in his first season as Padres closer, and in the following years, he became the face of the franchise after Tony Gwynn retired. Hoffman collected at least 30 saves each year for the next 14 years, except for 2003 when he missed most of the year recovering from shoulder surgery. After San Diego did not re-sign him following the 2008 season, Hoffman pitched for two years with the Brewers before retiring after the 2010 season.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Hoffman was selected for the All-Star team seven times, and twice he was the runner-up for the National League (NL) Cy Young Award, given annually to the top pitcher in the league. Hoffman retired with MLB records of fifteen 20-save seasons, fourteen 30-save seasons (including eight consecutive), and nine 40-save seasons (including two streaks of four consecutive). He also retired with the highest career strikeout rate of any reliever.<ref group=note name=k/9_min_ip>Minimum 1,000 innings pitched</ref> Though Hoffman entered the majors with a powerful fastball, an injury after the 1994 season permanently diminished his fastball velocity and forced him to reinvent his pitching style; he subsequently developed one of the best changeups in baseball. Hoffman's entrance at home games accompanied by the AC/DC song "Hells Bells" was popular with fans.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: After retiring as a player, Hoffman returned to the Padres as a special assistant in the front office. In 2014, he became the team's pitching coordinator at their upper minor league levels, which included working with the Padres general manager. The following year, Hoffman's role expanded to overseeing pitching instruction at all levels in the minors.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Hoffman was born on October 13, 1967, in Bellflower, California. When he was six weeks old, Hoffman had to have a damaged kidney removed because an arterial blockage had formed there.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: His father, Ed, who stood at and , was a Marine and a veteran of the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. He later became a professional singer before he quit being on the road and got a job at the post office. He was also an usher at California Angels games; he was known as the Singing Usher, leading the crowd in the singing of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" in the seventh-inning and filling in if the designated national anthem singer did not show up. Ed would often bring Trevor to the games with him. Hoffman's mother, Mikki, was an English-born ballerina and came from an athletic family. Her father, Jack French, was a professional soccer player with Southend United FC before World War II. She met Hoffman's father in a play in England in which she was performing and he was acting and singing. Hoffman was taught by his mom to take responsibility. "Bad workmen always blame their tools", Mikki would say.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Hoffman's older brother, Glenn, was nine years older and played shortstop in the Boston Red Sox organization. During summer vacation when Hoffman was 10 years old, he joined Glenn while he was playing in Pawtucket. His oldest brother, Greg, was 14 years Hoffman's senior and a mentor to his two younger brothers. After Hoffman's first Little League game, Greg asked him how he did. Hoffman said, "I went 2-for-4, double, RBI." Greg replied, "That'll be the last [blanking] time you tell me how you did. When I ask you how you did, it's how the team did." Hoffman never forgot that. Given their age difference, Hoffman considered his brothers more role models than playmates. "[Glenn] was the guide while Greg was the drill instructor", said Hoffman.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Because of his damaged kidney, Hoffman was not allowed to play football or wrestle. Hoffman went to Savanna High School in Anaheim, as had Glenn, and following his more-talented older brother put pressure on Hoffman. Ed, who did not trust that coaches would protect Hoffman's arm, stopped allowing his son to pitch after he was 12 years old. Standing at just and , Hoffman played shortstop at Savanna, but nobody offered him a scholarship out of high school. He grew three inches over the summer and continued playing at Cypress College, and later for the University of Arizona from 1988 through 1989. Arizona was afraid of the liability if Hoffman's remaining kidney got hit by a baseball. "I told them the one kidney I have is on my right side. That's not the side that faces the pitcher when I hit, so it was O.K. They bought it", said Hoffman. He led Arizona in hitting in 1988 with a .371 batting average, 35 points better than teammate J. T. Snow. Other notable teammates included Scott Erickson and Kevin Long. Hoffman exhibited a strong throwing arm playing shortstop.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Hoffman was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 11th round with the 288th overall selection of the 1989 MLB draft, and he signed for $3,000. Prior to the draft, Reds scout Jeff Barton talked to Hoffman about playing another position. Hoffman was open to anything that might advance his career, and they talked about catching or pitching with his exceptional arm. Barton ranked Hoffman's arm an 80 on a 20–80 scale, where 60 was above average and 80 was a rarity. Hoffman played shortstop and third base for the Reds' Single-A affiliate Charleston. In his first 103 games, he only batted .212 with 23 runs batted in. Not showing much batting potential, Hoffman was converted to pitcher in 1991 at the suggestion of Charleston manager Jim Lett, who also grew tired of Hoffman overthrowing first base. Hoffman threw and recorded a 2.90 ERA with 169 strikeouts in minor league innings over two seasons while alternating between relieving and starting at Single-A Cedar Rapids, Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Nashville.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Left unprotected by Cincinnati in the 1992 MLB Expansion Draft, Hoffman was selected by the Florida Marlins with the eighth pick in the first round. In his first major league season in 1993, Hoffman learned by observing Marlins closer Bryan Harvey's balanced demeanor. After earning two saves in 29 appearances with the Marlins as an unknown rookie, Hoffman was traded midseason to the San Diego Padres during San Diego's 1993 fire sale. The Padres sent third baseman Gary Sheffield and pitcher Rich Rodriguez to the Marlins for Hoffman and pitching prospects José Martínez and Andrés Berumen. Padres general manager Randy Smith said at the time, "The only way to acquire quality players is to give up quality." The year before, Sheffield had won the NL batting title and made a run at the Triple Crown. Smith insisted that Florida include Hoffman in the deal. Padres fans, upset at the trade, booed Hoffman during his first several appearances. He allowed three runs in his one-inning debut with San Diego, eight runs over his first three outings, and blew his first save opportunity as a Padre. He pitched 39 games for San Diego, who finished the season with 101 losses, and ended his rookie season with 79 strikeouts in 90 innings with a 3.90 ERA and five saves.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: During the strike-shortened 1994 season, Hoffman took over closer duties from an injured and ineffective Gene Harris in mid-April. Hoffman recorded 20 saves and a 2.57 ERA while averaging 10.9 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (K/9). The weekend after the strike began, Hoffman, playing Nerf football at Del Mar Beach near San Diego, dived for a pass and landed awkwardly on his right shoulder. He later played volleyball and landed on the shoulder again while going for a dig. He heard a strange sound.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: In 1995, he had a 3.88 ERA and 31 saves and averaged 8.8 K/9. Hoffman pitched hurt from spring training through the season and finally had off-season rotator cuff surgery. "[Hoffman] never bitched about his arm, which was killing him from Day One ... He was out there when most guys wouldn't have been", said Smith. This is also the year during which he developed his changeup.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: In both 1996 and 1997, Hoffman pitched over 80 innings, with 111 strikeouts, averaged approximately 40 saves, and had ERAs of 2.25 and 2.66. In 1996, the Padres entered the last three games of the season in Los Angeles trailing the division-leading Dodgers by two games. Hoffman recorded saves in each of the final three games against the Dodgers, as the Padres won the NL West for their first division title in 12 years. After finishing the season with 18 straight saves, Hoffman was named "The Sporting News" NL Fireman of the Year in 1996, and received votes for both the Cy Young Award and the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award. The Padres played the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1996 National League Division Series (NLDS) and were swept in the series 3–0. Hoffman entered Game 2 with the score tied and one out and inherited runners on second and third. A run scored as he retired the only two batters he faced, and the Padres lost 5–4. In Game 3, Hoffman recorded the loss as he came into the tie game and allowed a 2-run homer to Brian Jordan for a 7–5 loss. The following season on June 23, 1997, he came in with the bases loaded in the ninth inning and struck out J. T. Snow to save the 11–6 win over the San Francisco Giants and became the Padres' career saves leader with 109, passing Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers. San Diego won only 76 games that year, but Hoffman ranked second in the NL with 37 saves.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: During the 1998 season, Hoffman began entering save situations in Padres home games to the entrance music of AC/DC's "Hells Bells" playing over the public address system, an event that came to be known as "Trevor Time". The tradition began July 25, 1998, and the song was chosen by a Padres salesman. The crowd was excited by the tolling of the bells from the song, and the scoreboard showing Hoffman running in from the bullpen. Hoffman preserved a 6–5 win against the Houston Astros by striking out Moisés Alou to end that game and converted his 41st consecutive save opportunity, tying an MLB record at the time. The following night, Hoffman's streak ended on an Alou home run, though the Padres ended up winning the game. It was Hoffman's only blown save of the regular season. On September 1, he saved a 9–8 victory over the New York Mets for his 45th save, breaking the club record set by Mark Davis in 1989 when he won the Cy Young Award. On September 12, the Padres clinched their second division title in three years after Hoffman saved an 8–7 win over the Dodgers. In a 4–3 win over the Chicago Cubs on September 14, he worked a perfect ninth inning and became the fourth reliever in MLB history to reach the 50-save mark. Hoffman had a career-high 53 saves and a career-best 1.48 ERA. His saves tied the NL single-season record set in 1993 by the Cubs' Randy Myers. Opponents batted .165 against him, and the first hitters he faced hit .129. His ERA in save situations was 0.49, and he struck out 10.6 hitters per nine innings. The Padres were 62–4 in games he pitched. Hoffman was runner-up in the Cy Young Award race that year to Tom Glavine of the Atlanta Braves, despite receiving 13 first-place votes to Glavine's 11. Hoffman was left off of six ballots. Hoffman and Adam Wainwright in 2009 are the only two pitchers to ever receive the most first-place votes and not win the Cy Young. Hoffman won the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award and captured another Fireman of the Year Award. He finished seventh in NL MVP voting.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Facing the Houston Astros in the 1998 NLDS, the Padres won the series 3–1. Hoffman earned two saves, both in 2–1 wins. In Game 1 against Atlanta in the 1998 National League Championship Series, Hoffman entered to stop a rally in the eighth inning with a 2–1 lead. He allowed a run in the ninth, tying the game, after converting 53 of 54 save attempts during the regular season. After Padre Ken Caminiti hit a home run in the top of the 10th, Hoffman got two outs but ran into trouble and was taken out after throwing 43 pitches. He was credited with a win as the Padres held on, 3–2. Hoffman entered Game 3 with the bases loaded and two out in the eighth, and he struck out Javy López on three pitches to end the inning and would save the Padres' 4–1 victory. San Diego was up 3–0 in the series and would go on to win 4–2. The Padres reached the 1998 World Series, but lost the series 4–0 against the New York Yankees, who finished with an MLB-record 125 combined regular season and playoff victories and the third-best overall winning percentage (.714) for a World Series champion. In his only appearance in the series in Game 3, Hoffman entered in the eighth with a runner on and no outs and a 3–2 lead. Later in the inning, he surrendered a three-run homer to Scott Brosius, the eventual World Series MVP, and the Padres lost the game 5–4.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Hoffman signed a $32 million contract extension with San Diego in March 1999 for the 2000–03 seasons. At the time, it was the richest contract ever given any Padre or any relief pitcher. The Padres held an option for $10 million for 2004. Hoffman's contract included a no-trade clause, the first the Padres had ever granted. Following their World Series appearance in 1998, the Padres lost key players to begin the 1999 season and finished under .500 each season from 1999 through 2002, while finishing either fourth or fifth in the five-team NL West each year. Hoffman saved 56% of the team's wins during that span. He set MLB records with his fifth overall and fourth consecutive 40-save season in 2001, as well as his seventh consecutive 30-save campaign. In 2002, he extended his MLB record with his eighth straight 30-save season. Hoffman was named to the All-Star game in 1999, 2000, and 2002. On June 10, 1999, Hoffman struck out the side in the ninth inning in a 2–1 Padres victory over the Oakland Athletics for his 200th career save. On August 15, 2001, Hoffman recorded his 300th save in a 2–1 home win over the Mets. Hoffman broke Dennis Eckersley's record for most saves with one team (320) in 2002. "Sports Illustrated" placed Hoffman on the cover of their May 13, 2002, issue with the headline "The Secret of San Diego: Why Trevor Hoffman of the Padres is the best closer (ever)".


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Hoffman sat out most of the 2003 season while recovering from two offseason shoulder surgeries, including one that trimmed the tip of his scapula. It marked the first time he had been on the disabled list after 10 major league seasons. In his absence, Rod Beck closed for the Padres. Hoffman pitched his first game in 2003 on September 2 with a perfect seventh inning in a 6–3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. He pitched in nine games in 2003, all non-save situations, with an ERA of 2.00 and 11 strikeouts in 9 innings. Coming off the injury, the Padres bought out their $10 million option on Hoffman for 2004 for $2 million and agreed to a new deal with a $2.5 million salary for 2004 including $500,000 in incentives and an option for 2005. In the Padres inaugural season at their new home in Petco Park in 2004, Hoffman returned to the closer role and finished with 41 saves with a 2.30 ERA, his lowest since 1998. He passed Jeff Reardon (367) and Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley (390) to end the season third on the all-time saves list. The new park provided an upgrade over Qualcomm Stadium for "Trevor Time" with a state-of-the-art sound system and new scoreboards with enhanced visuals allowing for animated flames and live fan shots.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: On May 6, 2005, Hoffman saved a 6–5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals as the Padres won two straight in St. Louis for the first time since 1977. It was Hoffman's 400th save, and he became the third pitcher in MLB history to reach the milestone, following John Franco (424) and Lee Smith (478). Hoffman was named both the NL Pitcher of the Month and Delivery Man of the Month in May after a perfect 12 for 12 in save opportunities while posting a 0.82 ERA (1 ER/11.0 IP) in 12 games as the Padres went 22–6 for their best month in franchise history. On August 24, Hoffman converted his 29th consecutive save opportunity in a 7–4 win over the Houston Astros. He passed Franco for second place on the all-time saves list with his 425th save, and the Padres maintained a six-game lead in the NL West with a 63–63 record. The Padres won the NL West with an 82–80 record, and Hoffman finished the season 43 for 46 in save opportunities, the second most saves in the NL. The Padres were swept 3–0 in the playoffs by the Cardinals, who had a majors-best 100–62 record in the regular season. Hoffman did not get into any save situations as the Padres never led through any of the 27 innings in the series.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: As a free agent after the 2005 season, Hoffman re-signed with the Padres after negotiating with the Cleveland Indians. Hoffman signed a $13.5 million, two-year contract that included a club option for 2008. "It came down to me making a decision for my family and not disrupting what we have going on", said Hoffman. "This is probably the most significant signing that I've had", said then-Padres general manager Kevin Towers. "This guy is the face of our organization. I can't put into words what he means to our community."


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: In 2006, Hoffman was named to his fifth All-Star game, but was the losing pitcher in the game after having two strikes with two outs to Michael Young, who was later named the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player. His All-Star performance bothered him, and he suffered two of his five blown saves that year in the week that followed. August 20 marked Hoffman's 776th outing for the Padres, breaking the Pirates Elroy Face's major league record for most relief appearances with one club. On September 24 in the Padres' last home game of the year, Hoffman retired eventual 2006 NL batting champion Freddy Sanchez for the final out of a 2–1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, keeping the Padres -game lead atop the NL West with seven games left to play. With the save, Hoffman became the all-time Major League saves leader, surpassing Lee Smith's record of 478. As the Padres celebrated on the mound with Hoffman, the Pirates remained in the dugout watching in respectful salute. "I've never seen a crowd get into one inning for one guy like that before", said Pirates reliever John Grabow. "You get goose bumps even if you are on the other team." The Padres presented Hoffman with a golden bell trophy, a reference to "Hells Bells".


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Hoffman saved a 3–1 win over the Diamondbacks on September 30 as the Padres to clinched a playoff berth. The next day in the last regular season game, two home runs were hit off Hoffman before he saved a 7–6 win over the Diamondbacks, earning the Padres their second consecutive NL West title. He was named Delivery Man of the Month for September after being 10 for 11 in save opportunities and striking out 13 batters over 12.0 innings and allowing only seven hits. Hoffman saved 46 of 51 save chances on the year, and led the NL in saves for the second time. His 11th 30-save season set an MLB record, while his eighth 40-save season extended his record. His season save total was the second highest in his career. Hoffman won the Rolaids Relief Award for the second time in his career, was awarded "The Sporting News" NL Reliever of the Year for the third time, and finished as the runner-up for the Cy Young Award for the second time. In the playoffs, the Padres faced the Cardinals in the NLDS again. Down 2–0 in the series, Hoffman saved Game 3 in a 3–1 win to avoid elimination. However, the Padres lost the series 3–1 as their offense managed only six runs in the four games against the eventual 2006 World Series champions.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: On April 28, 2007, in a 3–2 win over the Dodgers, Hoffman earned a save and pitched in his 803rd game for the Padres, breaking the MLB record for games pitched for one team. The record was previously held by both Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators and Elroy Face of the Pittsburgh Pirates. On June 6 against the Dodgers, Hoffman became the first pitcher in MLB history to log 500 saves after the Padres' 5–2 victory. Hoffman was awarded the Delivery Man of the Month for May after converting all 11 of his save opportunities and allowing no earned runs in 13 games. On July 1, Hoffman was named to the NL All-Star Team for the sixth time in his career. On September 8 against the Colorado Rockies, Hoffman struck-out Todd Helton swinging on a 74-mph change-up for his 1,000th career strikeout, becoming the eighth reliever to reach the mark. On September 27, Hoffman picked up his 40th save of the 2007 season, marking his ninth season with 40 saves, a Major League record. On September 29, one strike away from clinching the Padres third consecutive playoff berth, Hoffman surrendered a tying, two-out triple in the ninth inning to Tony Gwynn Jr., son of legendary Padres Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. The Padres would lose 4–3 in the 11th inning to the Milwaukee Brewers. On October 1, in the Padres' wild card tie-breaker game against the Rockies, Hoffman blew his second straight save opportunity and his team's 8–6 lead in the 13th inning. He took the loss when he allowed the game-winning run to score on a sacrifice fly. For the season, he converted 42 saves in 49 opportunities while posting a 4–5 mark and 2.98 ERA. His 42 saves were the third most in the NL. A couple of weeks after the end of the season, Hoffman had minor arthroscopic surgery on his pitching elbow to remove bone chips. He said it was unrelated to his pitching performance at the end of the season.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Hoffman surrendered a home run but recorded his 550th save on August 14, 2008, in a 3–2 victory over the Brewers. On September 19, 2008, Hoffman finished an 11–6 14-inning win over the Washington Nationals for his 900th career MLB game. Hoffman's 30th and last save of the season, a 3–2 win over the Pirates, ensured the Padres would not lose 100 games that season. The Padres finished with a 63–99 record after being projected by the team and analysts to win 87–90 games. Hoffman ended the 2008 season 3–6 with a 3.77 ERA and 30 in 34 save opportunities. He tied for sixth in the NL in saves. Hoffman reached 20 or more saves for the 14th time to set a new MLB record. He had a 5.14 ERA through his first 29 appearances and a 1.56 ERA in his last 19 appearances of the season.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Hoffman, eligible for free agency, realized he was decreasing his leverage when he declared he wanted to return to play for San Diego in 2009 and did not want to move his family. Meanwhile, Padres owner John Moores, who was in the midst of a divorce and in the process of selling the team, ordered the team to reduce its payroll from its 2008 budget of $73.6 million to $40 million. It was announced on November 10, 2008, that Hoffman would not return to San Diego in 2009. With his struggles during the season, the cost-cutting Padres lowballed a $4 million offer with an option for 2010 and later retracted that, ending his tenure with the team. It was not an amicable parting for Hoffman, who was the face of the franchise after Tony Gwynn's retirement following the 2001 season. His 902 career appearances as a Padre extended his own MLB record for games pitched with one team.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: On January 13, 2009, Hoffman signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the Milwaukee Brewers. He suffered a strained muscle on the right side of his rib cage in spring training, and started the season on the DL. He made his Brewers debut on April 27, 2009. Hoffman recorded his first save for Milwaukee the next day, and the Brewers continued with his "Trevor Time" entrance. He was named NL Pitcher of the Month as well as Delivery Man of the Month in May after recording 11 saves in 12 scoreless appearances in the month. He started the season with 18 scoreless innings before entering in a tie game on June 14 and surrendering a run in a 5–4 loss against the Chicago White Sox.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Hoffman was selected as an All-Star in 2009 as a late replacement, making his seventh appearance. On September 3, he struck out Albert Pujols on three pitches for his 30th save in the 4–3 win over St. Louis. The save extended Hoffman's record to 14 seasons with at least 30 saves. He had already increased his record of 20 or more saves to 15. Hoffman appeared in 55 games with the Brewers, recording 37 saves in 41 attempts with a 1.83 ERA and a .183 BAA. It was the second lowest ERA of his career behind his 1.48 ERA in 1998, and he ranked fifth in the NL in saves. In the offseason, he re-signed with the Brewers for $8 million for 2010 with a mutual option for the 2011 season.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: With less control on his changeup, Hoffman struggled in 2010. In April, Hoffman pitched nine innings and allowed 13 earned runs and six home runs—surpassing his totals in both categories from all of the previous season—and he blew four of his seven save opportunities. Historically though, Hoffman had blown 20 of 84 save attempts in April for his career, a 76.1 percent success rate, while converting 90.6 percent the rest of the season. On May 1, Hoffman earned his first save at Petco Park as a visitor, as the Brewers beat the Padres 2–1. After saving just five of his first 10 chances with an ERA over 12.00 in mid-May, Hoffman's struggles prompted Brewers manager Ken Macha to remove him as closer and move him into middle relief to work on his mechanics. Hoffman insisted that there was nothing physically wrong with him, and he served as a mentor for his replacement, John Axford. Stuck at 596 career saves before his demotion, Hoffman eventually returned to a setup role, and occasionally pitched in save situations. On September 7, 2010, he recorded his 600th save, and he was carried off the field by his teammates. "To be a part of it was great because of how much admiration we all have for Trevor", said teammate Craig Counsell. Hoffman finished the season win a 2–7 win–loss record, 10 saves in 15 chances, and a 5.89 ERA in 50 appearances, but he allowed just nine earned runs in his final 33 appearances dating back to June 3. He and the Brewers parted ways on November 2 when the club declined to exercise a $7 million mutual option on his contract.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: In the offseason, Hoffman expressed interest in taking over the closer role for a team near his home in San Diego, but he did not wish to return as a setup pitcher and diminish his accomplishments. The Arizona Diamondbacks, where old friend and former Padres general manager Kevin Towers was the GM, considered Hoffman a backup option as their closer had they not managed to sign J. J. Putz. Hoffman believed he could still pitch in the big leagues, but with all of the closer roles for West Coast teams filled, he elected to retire, announcing his decision on January 11, 2011. He revealed that elbow tendinitis plagued him for most of the first half of 2010, though he never used it as an excuse for his performance. Hoffman had received three cortisone injections that year with the Brewers. Hoffman retired with 601 saves as the all-time saves leader in MLB history. He had no desire to sign a ceremonial one-day player contract to retire as a Padre. "I don't believe that's the right way [to retire]", said Hoffman.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: The Padres retired Hoffman's 51 at Petco Park in a pre-game ceremony on August 21, 2011, against the Florida Marlins. San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders declared it "Trevor Hoffman Day." The ceremony was patterned after the show "This Is Your Life", featuring over 40 of Hoffman's former teammates and coaches. Brian Johnson, the lead singer on AC/DC's "Hells Bells", paid tribute in a video to Hoffman for "rocking the mound." In a nod to Hoffman's late father, Ed, the Padres presented Hoffman with a mint condition 1958 Cadillac convertible; his father loved driving his family in a convertible. For the National Anthem, the Padres played a video of Ed singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Fenway Park on Opening Day in 1981 when Hoffman's brother, Glenn, was the starting shortstop for the Red Sox.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: In 2014, Hoffman became the ninth inductee into the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame. He became eligible for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame starting in 2016. In his debut, he fell short of the 75 percent of votes required for entry, but the 67.3 percent he received as a first-year candidate was promising for induction in the future. In 2017, Hoffman received 74 percent of the vote, falling five votes short of induction. On January 24, 2018, Hoffman was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame with 79.9 percent of the vote. Soon thereafter, the Padres announced plans to unveil a bronze statue of Hoffman at Petco Park sometime around his July 29 induction into the Hall of Fame.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Hoffman was known for his high leg kick, the menacing glare through his cap pulled down almost to his eyes, and his deceptive changeup. When Hoffman first came into the league, he could throw up to 95 mph. He would also throw a slider and only an occasional changeup. His original changeup was a conventional circle changeup taught to him by Cincinnati scout Larry Barton. Hoffman learned a different changeup, which he throws with a palmball grip, from teammate Donnie Elliott in 1994. He began using the new changeup in 1995 when his fastball had dropped to 88–90 mph after his offseason injury on the beach. With the decrease in velocity, Hoffman knew he could not rely as much on his fastball. He played through 1995 and had surgery the following offseason for a torn rotator cuff. When he returned the following year, Hoffman's fastball was at 87–88 mph, but he had more experience with his new changeup. His fastball reached back as high as 91 mph in 1998, but by sometime after 2000 it dropped down to 83–88 mph. His repertoire by then included primarily of his changeup, a four-seam fastball, a slower cut fastball that moves in towards a left-handed batter, and the occasional slider and a curveball.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Hoffman explained the key to his changeup was how he pinched the seam of the ball with his thumb and index finger as he released it. He threw the changeup with the arm speed used to throw a fastball, and the spin and movement of the ball looked the same to the batter. His changeup ranged from 73 to 76 mph. Bruce Bochy, who managed Hoffman for over a decade with the Padres, said of Hoffman's changeup: "He pitched so well off his fastball [opponents] couldn't just sit on it every pitch." "You could be sitting on [his changeup] and still not be successful with it", says former player Mark Sweeney. It was the arm action on the change up and the late sink just before it reached the plate that allowed Hoffman to stay successful over the years. With opponents flailing to slow down their swings, teammates nicknamed Hoffman's changeup The Bugs Bunny Pitch after a famous Bugs Bunny cartoon episode. "Some [pitchers] fool you. Some guys overpower you. Hoffman embarrasses you", said former rival and later teammate Mike Piazza. After striking out on a changeup to end the game against Hoffman, Dodger catcher Paul Lo Duca said, "It's like it has a parachute on it." As Hoffman lost velocity on his fastball throughout his career, he compensated by maintaining a notable speed differential between that pitch and his changeup. He initially kept the grip of his changeup a secret. "I was a little weird about it", Hoffman said. "I didn't like talking about how I threw the change. I didn't want people to see how I gripped the ball. I thought I'd be giving away something to the hitters." Later in his career, he posed for pictures of his grip, figuring everyone had seen it.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Padres general manager Kevin Towers said Hoffman was the first one in and the last one out of the ballpark every day. Hoffman adhered to a daily conditioning program. When pitcher Jeremy Fikac was promoted to the majors in 2001, Hoffman invited him to join him on his usual afternoon run. "I remember sitting in the bullpen that night, and my legs were still trembling from the run", Fikac recalled. "I'd run before, but not at that pace ... I was thinking, I hope they don't call on me because I can't feel my legs under me ... His work ethic is unbelievable." Bochy said, "[Hoffman's] one of those guys like Tony Gwynn—they never feel like they've arrived. Tony never thought, 'Well, I'm hitting .360 ... ' He was never content. And Trevor's the same way. They just keep working and make sure that they've got goals they want to reach." After every save opportunity, whether he converted it or blew it, Hoffman would sit in the dugout for up to five minutes after his teammates had cleared out. Whether it was the euphoria from success or the sting of failure, he would sit there and drain all the emotion out of himself, put the game behind him, and move on. Tracy Hoffman said, "He's all about order. That's the foundation to what he does. You see it when he's on the field. He's always the same, win or lose. He doesn't smile, doesn't show any emotion." Padres manager Bud Black marveled at Hoffman's regimen. "The daily preparation for his job, that focus and dedication each day to prepare for the ninth inning ... It was incredible to see live", said Black. "I played with George Brett, a Hall of Famer who was a great worker. But Trevor took it to a level and a commitment and Hall of Fame caliber." After Hoffman resurrected his final season and recorded his 600th save, Macha said Hoffman's "work ethic and perseverance paid off ... He had to grind it out to get there."


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Hoffman was long regarded as one of the great teammates in baseball. He was known as a leader in the clubhouse and a tutor to younger players. He mentored his successor in San Diego, Heath Bell, and the pitcher who supplanted him in Milwaukee, John Axford. "Just watching him go about his business was a big thing to me", Bell said. In his first game pitching setup to Axford after losing his closer role, Hoffman stayed in the dugout to watch Axford finish. Many relievers retire back to the clubhouse after being removed from a game. Hoffman's teammates noticed that he stayed supporting Axford through a bases-loaded jam. Axford spent the season absorbing Hoffman's advice, and the two bonded. "He took young players under his wing, especially relief pitchers", said former Padres teammate Brad Ausmus. Hoffman regularly organized team dinners on the road or had team family gatherings at his home, whether it was with the Padres or the Brewers. "It's very unusual for a pitcher, especially a relief pitcher, to be the team leader", Padres first baseman Phil Nevin said in 2002, "but everybody here looks to Trevor. This is his team."


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: According to Ausmus, Hoffman wanted his teams to feel like a family. He felt like he let his family down if he did not do his job on a particular night. Still, he was accessible and held himself accountable on the rare occasions that he failed. Hoffman was more accommodating for interviews after blown saves than he was after successful ones. "The people asking the questions are not responsible for the ball flying out of the park", he explained. Both Towers and Black best remember Hoffman for his accountability after his blown save in the 2007 Wild Card tie-breaker.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Baseball people revere Hoffman for how he treats people. Ausmus says Hoffman goes out of his way to engage fans. Beyond shaking hands or signing autographs, he has extended conversations with fans who want to talk baseball. When Hoffman passed on the Indians in free agency to stay with the Padres, he still sent an autographed jersey as a baby gift to then-Indians manager Eric Wedge. After Hoffman saved the game to clinch the NL West on the last day of the 1996 season, he called Randy Smith, who traded for Hoffman as Padre GM before moving on to the Detroit Tigers. "Randy, I wish you were here", Hoffman said. "You're a part of this." While celebrating his record setting 479th save against the Pirates, Hoffman tipped his cap to the Pittsburgh dugout, particularly Pirates manager Jim Tracy, who managed Hoffman in Cincinnati's Double-A Chattanooga farm team in 1991 after he was converted to a pitcher. Despite losing his role as a closer in his final season, Hoffman took pleasure in supporting his teammates and "not being a cancer just because I was having trouble."


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Hoffman dominated his position at a consistent level while enjoying incredible longevity over almost two decades. After an 18-year career, the seven-time NL All-Star retired as MLB's all-time leader in saves with 601. He was the first pitcher to reach not only the 500 save milestone, but also 600. He converted 88.8 percent of his save opportunities, the third-highest rate among players with 300 or more saves. Barry Bloom of "MLB.com" called Hoffman "the best National League closer of his era." Hoffman is one of only three pitchers who have had streaks of four straight seasons with at least 40 saves; he achieved it twice. His nine seasons of 40 or more saves are tied for the most all-time. He became one of the Padres' most-popular players. His 15-year stint as their closer was rare for a baseball role that exhibited a high turnover rate.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Hoffman had 12 seasons with at least 37 saves, 13 seasons with a sub-3.00 ERA and 14 with an ERA+ of at least 130 (indicating that he was at least 30 percent better than the league average in ERA those years). Four times he was in the top six in voting for the Cy Young Award, including twice as a runner-up. Among pitchers to debut since 1969, he is one of only two ranked in the top 10 for lowest opponents' batting average against facing both lefties and righties. Hoffman retired ranked first with 856 games finished, ninth with 1,035 games pitched, seventh-lowest in hits per nine innings (H/9) at 6.99, and seventh-best in strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB) of 3.69. He had a 2.87 ERA and 1.06 walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) for his career.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Though he was not a power pitcher, Hoffman was a strikeout pitcher. His 9.36 K/9 was the fifth-highest in MLB history, and highest ever among relievers.<ref name="career_k/9"></ref> Sports journalist Fran Zimniuch wrote in "Fireman: The Evolution of the Closer in Baseball" that Hoffman was "a thinking man's closer, using guile rather than heat." As the velocity of his fastball decreased, he compensated with a devastating changeup that is as synonymous a pitch with Hoffman as the splitter is with Bruce Sutter or the cutter is with Mariano Rivera. "It's a tough situation throwing a change-up in the ninth inning, unless you've got Trevor's changeup", closer Billy Wagner said. "There's not many guys who have a changeup that's dominating", All-Star third basemen Scott Rolen said. "But his is dominating. It's a weapon. That's not usually a word you use with a changeup." Robb Nen, a retired closer, was amazed at how Hoffman got better after he lost velocity on his fastball. "I don't think I could do it, to just lose the ability to throw 95 and still be one of the best. I have tremendous respect for him", Nen said. Another retired closer, Troy Percival, concurred about the difficulty in transforming from a power pitching style. "It's not easy to do. Guys who throw 95, 96 [mph] have an ego about being able to do that. [Hoffman] just went right into, 'Hey, you know, I throw 87 now. This is what I've got.' And he goes out there and gets it done just as well as he ever did."


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: During the time Hoffman held the career record for saves, many still considered Rivera the best closer of all time. Like many other relievers of his era, Hoffman was compared to Rivera and his success in the playoffs. While Hoffman had 601 regular-season saves, he only had four in the playoffs along with a 3.46 postseason ERA. He lacked the postseason opportunities and success of Rivera, who had 42 saves and an 0.70 ERA in the playoffs as the Yankees advanced to the postseason 17 times and won five World Series during his career. During Hoffman's tenure in San Diego, the Padres won at least 90 games only twice and had nine losing seasons, including five with no more than 70 wins. Hoffman, however, did blow a save opportunity in his only World Series appearance and also failed on save tries twice in the final three days of the 2007 season as the Padres vied for the playoffs. Rivera broke Hoffman's career save record in 2011, and finished his career with 652.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: In 2014, Major League Baseball introduced the Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year Award, which is awarded annually to the top reliever in the NL. Hoffman was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018, becoming the sixth member to be elected who was primarily a reliever during their career. Zimniuch wrote that Hoffman and Rivera are "the best of the best of the one-inning closers". Less than 10 percent of Hoffman's saves were over one inning. Closers as a whole have been criticized for pitching almost exclusively in the ninth inning with no runners on base, while star relievers previously were called "firemen", entering games in the middle of innings with runners on base and capable of pitching multiple innings. After Hoffman retired, saves became devalued as a primary evaluator of closers, and his career numbers—including sabermetric statistics like Wins Above Replacement (WAR), Win probability added (WPA), and Jaffe Wins Above Replacement Score (JAWS)—were more heavily scrutinized than for relievers elected before him. Still, his large volume of saves made him a strong candidate for the Hall of Fame. Some opponents of his induction maintained that his limited innings mitigated his impact compared to starting pitchers who have not been inducted, while others posited that those starters could have excelled as closers, but Hoffman would not have succeeded as a starter. Hoffman pitched innings in his career, which topped only Sutter (1,042) among pitchers in the Hall of Fame. The two are the only Hall of Fame pitchers to never start a game.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Hoffman's entrance into games, accompanied by the playing of "Hells Bells", became popular among fans after it was introduced in 1998. Tom Verducci of "Sports Illustrated" wrote that Hoffman's "signature moment is one of the most electrically charged in sports: Padres fans rising and roaring, in Pavlovian fashion, upon hearing the first bell toll, the foreboding bonging like something out of Hitchcock as Hoffman enters slowly, stage right." Opposing closer Jason Isringhausen said, "'Hells Bells' in San Diego is Trevor. It's like when you go there, you want to [win] two out of three so you can hear it once." Bill Center, writing for "The San Diego Union-Tribune", once said "[Hoffman's] entrance was more suited to the World Wrestling Federation than the national pastime." Other teams contacted the Padres for videos of the "Trevor Time" production. Yankees executives witnessing Hoffman's entrance in 1998 were inspired to use the song "Enter Sandman" for Rivera's entrance starting the following season.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Coinciding with his retirement from playing in 2011, Hoffman returned to San Diego as a special assistant to Padres team president and COO Tom Garfinkel. "There's been a turnover of people [in the Padres front office] who wanted to reconcile and I've been cool with it. A couple of years definitely makes a big difference", said Hoffman. In addition to his front office role, he also served as an instructor during spring training. In 2014, Hoffman became San Diego's upper-level pitching coordinator, essentially an additional pitching coach for the Padres at their Double-A and Triple-A levels. His new role also involved assisting San Diego general manager Josh Byrnes. Under general manager A. J. Preller in 2015, Hoffman became senior advisor for baseball operations, overseeing pitching instruction at all levels of the Padres' minor league system.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Hoffman was the bullpen coach for the Great Britain team during the qualifying round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He was eligible on the basis of his maternal ancestry to England.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Hoffman met his wife Tracy in Buffalo, New York, in 1992, where she was a real estate agent and a member of the National Football League's Buffalo Bills cheerleading squad. He asked her to marry him in 1993 while she was on the field during Super Bowl XXVII (which the Bills lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 52–17). Hoffman and his wife have three sons: Brody, Quinn, and Wyatt. The family lived in a house in Rancho Santa Fe, California, for nearly two decades before selling it in 2019.


title: Trevor Hoffman

text: Hoffman donated $200 for every save to the National Kidney Foundation. In honor of his father, a former Marine, Hoffman annually paid for game tickets and meals for 1,000 members of the military and their families.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: The first voyage of James Cook was a combined Royal Navy and Royal Society expedition to the south Pacific Ocean aboard HMS "Endeavour", from 1768 to 1771. It was the first of three Pacific voyages of which James Cook was the commander. The aims of this first expedition were to observe the 1769 transit of Venus across the Sun (3–4 June that year), and to seek evidence of the postulated "Terra Australis Incognita" or "undiscovered southern land".


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: The voyage was commissioned by King George III and commanded by Lieutenant Cook, a junior naval officer with good skills in cartography and mathematics. Departing from Plymouth Dockyard in August 1768, the expedition crossed the Atlantic, rounded Cape Horn and reached Tahiti in time to observe the transit of Venus. Cook then set sail into the largely uncharted ocean to the south, stopping at the Pacific islands of Huahine, Borabora and Raiatea to claim them for Great Britain. In October 1769 the expedition reached New Zealand, being the second Europeans to visit there, following the first European discovery by Abel Tasman 127 years earlier. Cook and his crew spent the following six months charting the New Zealand coast, before resuming their voyage westward across open sea. In April 1770 they became the first known Europeans to reach the east coast of Australia, making landfall near present-day Point Hicks, and then proceeding north to Botany Bay.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: The expedition continued northward along the Australian coastline, narrowly avoiding shipwreck on the Great Barrier Reef. In October 1770 the badly damaged "Endeavour" came into the port of Batavia in the Dutch East Indies, her crew sworn to secrecy about the lands they had discovered. They resumed their journey on 26 December, rounded the Cape of Good Hope on 13 March 1771, and reached the English port of Deal on 12 July. The voyage lasted almost three years.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: The year following his return Cook set out on a second voyage of the Pacific, which lasted from 1772 to 1775. His third and final voyage lasted from 1776 to 1779.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: On 16 February 1768 the Royal Society petitioned King George III to finance a scientific expedition to the Pacific to study and observe the 1769 transit of Venus across the sun to enable the measurement of the distance from the Earth to the Sun. Royal approval was granted for the expedition, and the Admiralty elected to combine the scientific voyage with a confidential mission to search the south Pacific for signs of the postulated continent "Terra Australis Incognita" (or "unknown southern land"). The aims of the expedition were revealed in the press: "To-morrow morning Mr. Banks, Dr. Solano [sic], with Mr. Green, the Astronomer, will set out for Deal, to embark on board the Endeavour, Capt. Cook, for the South Seas, under the direction of the Royal Society, to observe the Transit of Venus next summer, and to make discoveries to the South and West of Cape Horn". The London "Gazetteer" was more explicit when it reported on 18 August 1768: "The gentlemen, who are to sail in a few days for George's Land, the new discovered island in the Pacific ocean, with an intention to observe the Transit of Venus, are likewise, we are credibly informed, to attempt some new discoveries in that vast unknown tract, above the latitude 40". Another article reported that "the principal and almost sole national advantage" of the island discovered by Captain Wallace, that is Tahiti, was "its situation for exploring the Terra Incognita of the Southern Hemisphere", and that, "The Endeavour, a North-Country Cat, is purchased by the Government, and commanded by a Lieutenant of the Navy; she is fitting out at Deptford for the South Sea, thought to be intended for the newly discovered island." The "Gazette de France" of 20 June 1768 reported that the British Admiralty was outfitting two sloops of war to go to "the newly discovered island", from where they would "essay the discovery of the Southern Continent".


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: The Royal Society suggested command be given to Scottish geographer Alexander Dalrymple, who had urged that an expedition be sent to make contact with the estimated 50 million inhabitants of the Southern Continent with whom, he said, there was "at present no trade from Europe thither, though the scraps from this table would be sufficient to maintain the power, dominion, and sovereignty of Britain, by employing all its manufacturers and ships". As a condition of his acceptance, Dalrymple demanded a brevet commission as a captain in the Royal Navy. However, First Lord of the Admiralty Edward Hawke refused, going so far as to say he would rather cut off his right hand than give command of a Navy vessel to someone not educated as a seaman. In refusing Dalrymple's command, Hawke was influenced by previous insubordination aboard the sloop in 1698, when naval officers had refused to take orders from civilian commander Dr. Edmond Halley. The impasse was broken when the Admiralty proposed James Cook, a naval officer with a background in mathematics and cartography. Acceptable to both parties, Cook was promoted to Lieutenant and named as commander of the expedition.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: The vessel chosen by the Admiralty for the voyage was a merchant collier named "Earl of Pembroke", launched in June 1764 from the coal and whaling port of Whitby in North Yorkshire. She was ship-rigged and sturdily built with a broad, flat bow, a square stern and a long box-like body with a deep hold. A flat-bottomed design made her well-suited to sailing in shallow waters and allowed her to be beached for loading and unloading of cargo and for basic repairs without requiring a dry dock. Her length was , with a beam of , and measuring 368 tons burthen.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: "Earl of Pembroke" was purchased by the Admiralty in May 1768 for and sailed to Deptford on the River Thames to be prepared for the voyage. Her hull was sheathed and caulked, and a third internal deck installed to provide cabins, a powder magazine and storerooms. A longboat, pinnace and yawl were provided as ship's boats, as well as a set of sweeps to allow the ship to be rowed if becalmed or demasted. After commissioning into the Royal Navy as "His Majesty's Bark the Endeavour," the ship was supplied with ten 4-pounder cannons and twelve swivel guns, for defence against native attack while in the Pacific.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Provisions loaded at the outset of the voyage included 6,000 pieces of pork and 4,000 of beef, nine tons of bread, five tons of flour, three tons of sauerkraut, one ton of raisins and sundry quantities of cheese, salt, peas, oil, sugar and oatmeal. Alcohol supplies consisted of 250 barrels of beer, 44 barrels of brandy and 17 barrels of rum.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: The Admiralty's Instructions to Cook were divided into two sections, both marked "Secret" The first document dealt with the voyage to Tahiti, while the second dealt with the post-transit agenda. After Tahiti, Cook was instructed to sail directly south in search of the long-imagined sixth continent, referred to as the 'Southern Continent'. Next, he was to turn west to New Zealand, from where he was free to choose his homeward route. The Admiralty's Instructions do not mention the half-mapped fifth continent of New Holland (as Australia was known in the eighteenth century).


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: On 30 July 1768 the Admiralty authorised a ship's company for the voyage, of 73 sailors and 12 Royal Marines. The voyage was commanded by 40-year-old Lieutenant James Cook. His second lieutenant was Zachary Hicks, a 29-year-old from Stepney with experience as acting commander of the , a 16-gun cutter. The third lieutenant was John Gore, a 16-year Naval veteran who had served as master's mate aboard HMS "Dolphin" during its circumnavigation of the world in 1766.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Other notable people on the expedition include the official astronomer, Charles Green, then assistant to the Astronomer Royal, Nevil Maskelyne. Joseph Banks had been appointed to the voyage as the official botanist. Banks funded seven others to join him: a Swedish naturalist Daniel Solander, a Finnish naturalist Herman Spöring, two artists (Alexander Buchan and Sydney Parkinson), a scientific secretary, and two black servants from his estate.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Cook departed from Plymouth on 26 August 1768, carrying 94 people and 18 months of provisions. On 15 November, "Endeavour" reached Rio de Janeiro and stayed there until 2 December, re-provisioning and making repairs. The Viceroy, the Marques de Azambuja, had been warned by his home government that Britain was seeking to extend its overseas power and influence following its victory in the Seven Years' War, and therefore suspected that the observation of the transit of Venus and study of natural history that Cook told him were the aims of his voyage were not its only or main objectives. Cook took offence at the Viceroy's suspicious attitude. In his journal, he described Guanabara Bay, including its defensive fortifications, and noted that the city could be taken by a force of six ships of the line. The ship rounded Cape Horn and continued westward across the Pacific to arrive at Matavai Bay, Tahiti on 13 April 1769, where the observations were to be made. The transit was scheduled to occur on 3 June, and in the meantime Cook commissioned the building of a small fort and observatory at what is now known as Point Venus.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: The astronomer appointed to the task was Charles Green, assistant to the recently appointed Astronomer Royal, Nevil Maskelyne. The primary purpose of the observation was to obtain measurements that could be used to calculate more accurately the distance of Venus from the Sun. If this could be achieved, then the distances of the other planets could be worked out, and eventually the distance between any two points on Earth, thus solving the problem of accurately establishing longitude. On the day of the transit observation, Cook recorded:


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Saturday This day prov'd as favourable to our purpose as we could wish, not a Clowd was to be seen the Whole day and the Air was perfectly clear, so that we had every advantage we could desire in Observing the whole of the passage of the Planet Venus over the Suns disk: we very distinctly saw an Atmosphere or dusky shade round the body of the Planet which very much disturbed the times of the contacts particularly the two internal ones. D Solander observed as well as M Green and my self, and we differ'd from one another in observeing the times of the Contacts much more than could be expected.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Disappointingly, the separate measurements of Green, Cook and Solander varied by more than the anticipated margin of error. Their instrumentation was adequate by the standards of the time, but the resolution still could not eliminate the errors. When their results were later compared to those of the other observations of the same event made elsewhere for the exercise, the net result was not as conclusive or accurate as had been hoped. The difficulties are today thought to relate to various optical phenomena (including the Black drop effect), that precluded accurate measurement – particularly with the instruments used by Cook, Green and Solander.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Once the observations were completed, Cook opened the sealed orders for the second part of his voyage: to search the south Pacific for signs of the postulated southern continent of "Terra Australis". The Royal Society, and especially Alexander Dalrymple, believed that "Terra Australis" must exist, and that Britain's best chance of discovering and claiming it before any rival European power would be by using Cook's Transit of Venus mission.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Cook, however, decided to first explore the other nearby islands. A local priest and mariner named Tupaia volunteered to join him, and was to prove invaluable as a pilot, interpreter and intermediary between the crew of the "Endeavour" and local inhabitants. The "Endeavour" left Tahiti on 13 July and entered the harbour of the nearby island of Huahine on 16 July. There Cook gave to Oree, the chief, an inscribed plate "as lasting a Testimony of our having first discover'd this island as any we could leave behind". From Huahine Cook sailed to the neighbouring island of Raiatea where, on 20 July, he raised the flag and claimed Raiatea-Tahaa and the "adjacent” islands of Huahine, Borabora, Tupai (Motu Iti) and Maurua (Maupiti) for Great Britain, naming them the Society Islands "as they lay contiguous to one another".


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: On 9 August, Cook weighed anchor and, following Admiralty instructions, sailed south in search of the southern continent. In early September, after a journey of some 2400 kilometres, the "Endeavour" reached the latitude of 40 degrees south without sighting the supposed continent. In accordance with his instructions, Cook then turned west and headed towards New Zealand, keeping a course between a latitude of approximately 29 degrees and 40 degrees south.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Cook reached New Zealand on 6 October 1769, leading only the second group of Europeans known to do so (after Abel Tasman over a century earlier, in 1642). Cook and a landing party arrived onshore on 7 October at Poverty Bay in the north-east of the North Island. Over the first two days of arriving onshore, the first encounters with Māori resulted in the death of four or five locals. Three more Māori were killed in an encounter farther south off Cape Kidnappers on 15 October. Cook's journal entries reflect regret as he had failed his instructions to avoid hostilities with the Indigenous people of any nations encountered. Further encounters with Māori at Anaura Bay and Tolaga Bay were more peaceful, with Tupaia (who understood the Māori language) playing an important role as interpreter and mediator between the parties. The Māori traded freely with the Europeans and allowed them to gather water, wild celery and scurvy grass.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Sailing north, the "Endeavor" next anchored at Mercury Bay where Cook observed the transit of Mercury on 9 November. Relations with the Māori were generally peaceful, although one local was killed in a trading dispute. This was the last recorded death of a Māori at the hands of Cook’s crew. After raising the flag and formally claiming possession of Mercury Bay for Great Britain, Cook sailed the "Endeavour" out of the bay on 15 November.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Continuing north, Cook anchored at Bream Head and then the Bay of Islands, before rounding North Cape in the face of strong gales, narrowly missing an encounter with Surville’s French expedition in the "St Jean Baptiste", which was rounding the cape at the same time in the opposite direction. On 6 January 1770, the gales abated and Cook was able to make good progress down the west coast of the North Island without landing onshore. By mid-January, Cook arrived in Queen Charlotte Sound, on the north coast of New Zealand’s South Island, a location he would favour in his second and third voyages.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Cook led an excursion to nearby Arapawa Island on 22 January, where he climbed Kaitapeha Peak and saw the strait (which he named Cook Strait) separating the North Island of New Zealand from the South Island. The existence of the strait proved that the North Island was not part of the supposed southern continent.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: On 31 January, Cook claimed possession of Queen Charlotte Sound “and the adjacent lands” in the name of King George III. This was the last time Cook would claim possession of any part of New Zealand on behalf of Great Britain. The "Endeavour" sailed out of the sound on 5 February, and passing through Cook Strait, turned north, allowing Cook to chart the coast from Cape Palliser to Cape Turnagain. This completed the circumnavigation of the North island.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Turning south, Cook sailed down the east coast of the South Island, charting the coast and continuing the search for the southern continent. The "Endeavour" rounded South Cape on 10 March, proving, even to southern continent enthusiasts such as Banks, that the South Island was not the sought-after sixth continent.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Cook continued north along the west coast of the South Island without landing, before re-entering Cook Strait and turning into Admiralty Bay on 27 March. The circumnavigation of southern New Zealand had been completed.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: With patience Cook had mapped a land almost as large as Italy, making only two major mapping errors, both in the South Island. Through lack of time, he mistakenly thought that Banks Peninsula was an island and he thought Stewart Island, at the very south, was a peninsula.Margaret Cameron-Ash claims Cook knew that a strait separated Stewart Island from the mainland, but hid his discovery for reasons of military and colonial policy. Mawer, however, agrees with Blainey that it is more likely that Cook simply made an error, as his focus was on finding the southern extent of New Zealand, and conditions were unfavourable for more closely exploring the possible strait.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Cook wrote in his Journal on 31 March 1770 that "Endeavour's" voyage "must be allowed to have set aside the most, if not all, the Arguments and proofs that have been advanced by different Authors to prove that there must be a Southern Continent; I mean to the Northward of 40 degrees South, for what may lie to the Southward of that Latitude I know not".


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: On the same day he recorded his decision to set a course to return home by way of the yet unknown east coast of New Holland (as Australia was then called):


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: being now to quit this Country altogether, and to bend my thought towards returning home by such a rout as might Conduce most to the Advantage of the Service I am upon, I consulted with the Officers upon the most Eligible way of putting this in Execution. To return by the way of Cape Horn was what I most wished because by this route we should have been able to prove the or of a Southern Continent, which yet remains ; but in order to Ascertain this we must have kept in a higher Latitude in the very Depth of Winter, but the Condition of the Ship, in every respect, was not thought sufficient for such an undertaking. For the same reason, the thoughts of proceeding directly to the Cape of Good Hope was laid aside, especially as no discovery of any Moment could be hoped for in that rout. It was therefore resolved to return by way of the East Indies by the following rout: upon Leaving this Coast to steer to the Westward until we fall in with the East Coast of New Holland, and then to follow the direction of that Coast to the Northward, or what other direction it might take us until we arrive at its Northern extremity; and if this should be found impracticable, then to to fall in with the Land or Islands discovered by Quiros.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: A voyage to explore the east coast of New Holland, with a view to the British colonization of the country, had been recommended in John Campbell's editions of John Harris's "Navigantium atque Itinerantium Bibliotheca, or Voyages and Travels" (1744–1748, and 1764), a book which Cook had with him on "Endeavour":


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: The first Point, with respect to a Discovery, would be, to send a small Squadron on the Coast of "Van Diemen's Land," and from thence round, in the same course taken by Captain Tasman, by the Coast of "New Guiney"; which might enable the Nations that attempted it, to come to an absolute Certainty with regard to its Commodities and Commerce... By this means all the back Coast of "New Holland", and "New Guiney", might be roughly examined; and we might know as well, and as certainly, as the Dutch, how far a Colony settled there might answer our Expectations.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Cook then set course westwards, intending to strike for Van Diemen's Land (present-day Tasmania, sighted by Tasman) to establish whether or not it formed part of the fabled southern continent. However, they were forced to maintain a more northerly course owing to prevailing gales, and sailed on until 19 April 1770 when land was sighted at 6 a.m. After further observation, Cook named the land Point Hicks, after the officer who first sighted land. This point was on the south-eastern coast of the Australian continent, and therefore Cook's expedition became the first recorded Europeans to have encountered its eastern coastline. In his journal, Cook recorded the event thus:


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: the Southermost Point of land we had in sight which bore from us WS I judged to lay in the Latitude of 38°..0' S° and in the Longitude of 211°..07' W from the Meridian of Greenwich. I have named it Point Hicks, because Lieut Hicks was the first who discover'd this land.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Cook calculated that Van Diemen's Land ought to lie due south of their position, but having found the coastline trending to the south-west, recorded his doubt that this landmass was connected to it.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: The landmark of this sighting is generally reckoned to be a point lying about half-way between the present-day towns of Orbost and Mallacoota on the south-eastern coast of the state of Victoria. A survey done in 1843 ignored or overlooked Cook's earlier naming of the point, giving it the name Cape Everard. On the 200th anniversary of the sighting, the name was officially changed back to Point Hicks. Nevertheless, it is likely that Cook's "Point of land" was somewhat to the south-west of today's Point Hicks.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: The ship's log recorded that land was sighted at 6 a.m. on Thursday 19 April 1770. Cook's log used the nautical date, which, during the 18th century, assigned the same date to all ship's events from noon to noon, first p.m. and then a.m. That nautical date began twelve hours before the midnight beginning of the like-named civil date. Furthermore, Cook did not adjust his nautical date to account for circumnavigation of the globe until he had travelled a full 360° relative to the longitude of his home British port, either toward the east or west. Because he travelled west on his first voyage, this a.m. nautical date was the morning of a civil date 14 hours slow relative to his home port (port−14h). Because the south-east coast of Australia is now regarded as being 10 hours ahead relative to Britain, that date is now called Friday, 20 April.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: "Endeavour" continued northwards along the coastline, keeping the land in sight with Cook charting and naming landmarks as he went. A little over a week later, they came across an extensive but shallow inlet, and upon entering it moored off a low headland fronted by sand dunes.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: On 29 April, Cook and crew made their first landfall on the continent at a beach now known as Silver Beach on Botany Bay (Kamay). Two Gweagal men of the Dharawal / Eora nation came down to the boat to fend off what they thought to be spirits of the dead. They shouted 'warra warra wai' meaning 'you are all dead' and gestured with their spears. Cook's party attempted to communicate their desire for water and threw gifts of beads and nails ashore. The two Aboriginal men continued to oppose the landing and Cook fired a warning shot. One of the Gweagal men responded by throwing a rock, and Cook fired on them with small shot, wounding one of them in the leg. The crew then landed, and the Gweagal men threw two spears before Cook fired another round of small shot and they retreated. The landing party found several children in nearby huts, and left some beads and other gifts with them. The landing party collected 40 to 50 spears and other artefacts.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Cook and his crew stayed at Botany Bay for a week, collecting water, timber, fodder and botanical specimens and exploring the surrounding area. The Indigenous inhabitants observed the Europeans closely but generally retreated whenever they approached. Cook's party made several attempts to establish relations with the Indigenous people, but they showed no interest in the food and gifts the Europeans offered, and occasionally threw spears as an apparent warning.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: At first Cook named the inlet "Sting-Ray Harbour" after the many stingrays found there. This was later changed to "Botanist Bay" and finally "Botany Bay" after the unique specimens retrieved by the botanists Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander. This first landing site was later to be promoted (particularly by Joseph Banks) as a suitable candidate for situating a settlement and British colonial outpost.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: On 6 May 1770, the "Endeavour" left Botany Bay and sailed north past an inlet "wherein there appeared to be safe anchorage". Cook named it Port Jackson, today generally known as Sydney Harbour. No-one on the ship recorded seeing any of the Harbour's many islands, because their line of sight was blocked by the high promontories of South Head and Bradleys Head that shape its dog-leg entrance. However, these islands were possibly known to Captain Arthur Phillip, the First Fleet commander, before he departed England in 1787.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Cook continued northwards, charting along the coastline. He stopped at Bustard Bay (now known as Seventeen Seventy) at 8 o'clock on 23 May 1770 in five fathoms water on a sandy bottom at the south point of the Bay. Cook recounted that his clerk, Orton, had been molested while dead drunk that night, the perpetrators cutting off not only his clothes but also parts of his ears. Cook suspended and sent below the suspect Magra. On 24 May Cook and Banks and others went ashore. He sounded the channel (now known as Round Hill Creek) and found a freshwater stream, noting there was room for a few ships to safely anchor. He noted a great deal of smoke on the hills and inspected one of the closest group of 10 fires around which were scattered cockle shells and other evidence of Aboriginal occupation.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: A mishap occurred when "Endeavour" ran aground on a shoal of the Great Barrier Reef, on 11 June 1770. The ship was seriously damaged and his voyage was delayed almost seven weeks while repairs were carried out on the beach (near the docks of modern Cooktown, at the mouth of the Endeavour River). While there, Joseph Banks, Herman Spöring and Daniel Solander made their first major collections of Australian flora.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: The crew's encounters with the local Aboriginal people were mainly peaceable, although following a dispute over green turtles Cook ordered shots to be fired and one local was lightly wounded. From the group encountered here the name "kangaroo" entered the English language, coming from the local Guugu Yimidhirr word for a kind of grey kangaroo, "gangurru" (pronounced ).


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Once repairs were completed, the voyage continued and at about midday on 22 August 1770, Cook reached the northernmost tip of the coast. Without leaving the ship, he named it York Cape (now Cape York) and departed the east coast. Turning west, he nursed the battered ship through the dangerously shallow waters of Torres Strait, earlier navigated by Luis Váez de Torres in 1606. Searching for a high vantage point, Cook saw a steep hill on a nearby island from the top of which he hoped to see "a passage into the Indian Seas". Cook named the island Possession Island, where he claimed the entire eastern coastline that he had just explored as British territory.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: In negotiating the Torres Strait past Cape York, Cook also put an end to the speculation that New Holland and New Guinea were part of the same land mass.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: He had already established that New Holland was not joined to the islands later called the New Hebrides, as a chart by Didier Robert de Vaugondy showed. On 11 June he wrote in his journal: “we now begun to draw near the Latitude of those [islands] discover'd by Quiros [Queirós] which some Geographers, for what reason I know not have thought proper to Tack to this land”.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: At that point in the voyage Cook had lost not a single man to scurvy, a remarkable and practically unheard-of achievement in 18th-century long-distance seafaring. Adhering to Royal Navy policy introduced in 1747, Cook persuaded his men to eat foods such as citrus fruits and sauerkraut. At that time it was known that poor diet caused scurvy but not specifically that a vitamin C deficiency was the culprit.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Sailors of the day were notoriously against innovation, and at first the men would not eat the sauerkraut. Cook used a "method I never once knew to fail with seamen." He ordered it served to himself and the officers, and left an option for crew who wanted some. Within a week of seeing their superiors set a value on it the demand was so great a ration had to be instituted. In other cases, however, Cook resorted to traditional naval discipline. "Punished Henry Stephens, Seaman, and Thomas Dunster, Marine, with twelve lashes each for refusing to take their allowance of fresh beef."


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Cook's general approach was essentially empirical, encouraging as broad a diet as circumstances permitted, and collecting such greens as could be had when making landfall. All onboard ate the same food, with Cook specifically dividing equally anything that could be divided (and indeed recommending that practice to any commander – journal 4 August 1770).


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Two cases of scurvy did occur on board, astronomer Charles Green and a Tahiti navigator Tupaia were treated, but Cook was able to proudly record that upon reaching Batavia he had "not one man upon the sick list" (journal 15 October 1770), unlike so many voyages that reached that port with much of the crew suffering illness.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: "Endeavour" then visited the island of Savu, staying for three days before continuing on to Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East Indies, to put in for repairs. Batavia was known for its outbreaks of malaria, and before they returned home in 1771 many in Cook's company succumbed to the disease and other ailments such as dysentery, including the Tahitian Tupaia, Banks' Finnish secretary and fellow scientist Herman Spöring, astronomer Charles Green, and the illustrator Sydney Parkinson. Cook named Spöring Island off the coast of New Zealand to honour Herman Spöring and his work on the voyage.


title: First voyage of James Cook

text: Cook then rounded the Cape of Good Hope and stopped at Saint Helena. On 10 July 1771 Nicholas Young, the boy who had first seen New Zealand, sighted England (specifically the Lizard) again for the first time, and "Endeavour" sailed up the English Channel, passing Beachy Head at 6 a.m. on 12 July; that afternoon "Endeavour" anchored in the Downs, and Cook went ashore at Deal, Kent. His return was unexpected, as newspapers and journals had long since reported fears that "Endeavour" had been lost at sea or destroyed in combat against the French.