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Throwback Thursday: Hoffman's legacy tied to The Pass


It's all about the numbers in sports.

And in basketball, success is typically defined by who had the most: the most points, rebounds, assists, etc.

Rarely is notoriety achieved for a pass. One pass. And a turnover at that.

Not so for former West York basketball player Travis Hoffman.

Hoffman, who graduated in 1994 after a standout career of his own, is forever linked to another milestone: the day Kennard-Dale's Adam Miller became the second player (at the time) in the YAIAA to score 2,000 points.

According to a story published in the Daily Record in 1993, Miller was on the foul line, shooting two with 10 seconds left. He missed the first one and sank the second to sit one point away from the mark. After Miller's teammate called timeout, Hoffman inbounded the ball straight to Miller, who threw down a dunk as time ran out.

And from that point on, Hoffman, a junior at the time who averaged 19.5 points per game, was more recognized for The Pass then his playing ability.

"When I was younger, it got to me," Hoffman said. "But I'm glad it happened the way it did. Now, when people talk about it, I get a kick out of their reaction. Some say, 'I wouldn't have thrown the pass!'"

Here's more from Hoffman on his memory of that night:

"I scored over 1,000 career points, but I am forever remembered for a turnover!

Playing Kennard-Dale and in my opinion, the best player in the history of York County basketball, Adam Miller, we were getting blown out.

We were at their gym with a few seconds remaining, Adam was still in the game and they were up 30. Why was he still playing? He was one point away from 2,000 career points.

We had the ball under our basket, and I purposely threw him a baseball-type pass down the court where he threw down a reverse dunk as time expired to reach his milestone in front of his home crowd.

A few dozen people sent me thank you cards that I didn't even know. Someone sent flowers to our school for our team. One night we had a makeup game and Kennard-Dale had off. Hundreds of Kennard-Dale fans attended our game as a thank you!"

Hoffman entered his senior season looking to remind people that he was more than The Pass — he could play, too. He was named a league first team all-star that season after leading the YAIAA with 22.6 points per game. A writeup in the Daily Record described him as 'particularly deadly in the open court in West York's transition game.'

Hoffman ended his career with 1,166 points and sits fifth on West York's boys' career scoring list.

Have a York/Adams high school sports memory to share? Email Sports Editor Lyzz Jones at ejones@ydr.com or call 771-2058.

About Travis Hoffman

High school: West York (1994 graduate)

Current age: 38

College: Played basketball at Penn State York for two years before transferring to York College, where he played golf

Family: Married, wife Rachael; kids, Morgan, Mitch, Makennah, Grady, Luke. Coaches his daughter's travel basketball team.

Fast fact: An all-star player in his own right, Hoffman is one of nine boys' players to have scored more than 1,000 career points for the Bulldogs. Hoffman sits fifth on the list with 1,166 points.