UCLA football star, World War II veteran Al Hoisch dies at 91

Al Hoisch, a star UCLA running back from 1946 to 1947 and a decorated World War II veteran, died of natural causes on Friday at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 91 years old.

Born in New York on March 23, 1923, Hoisch was a football letter winner at UCLA in 1946 and 1947 and set several records during his career. Hoisch averaged 41.5 yards per return on kick returns in 1946, helping the Bruins reach their first and only 10-0 season.

In that season, Hoisch set a Rose Bowl record with a 103-yard kick return against Illinois. He was also awarded Associated Press first-team All-Pacific Coast Conference honors in 1947.

Hoisch’s fondest football memory, according to his son John Hoisch, came in 1946 against USC. With the score tied at six late in the game, Al Hoisch was unblocked on a punt and delivered a hard hit on the Trojan returner, Mickey McCardle, forcing a fumble. UCLA recovered and scored soon after to win 13-6 and earn a trip to the Rose Bowl.

“That play against USC I think really was fun for him,” John Hoisch said. “He liked the fact that he was smaller than the other guys. Players were smaller then, but even at 5-foot-6, 145 (pounds), that was still small then when half the guys chasing him around were 200 pounds. He used to like it that they didn’t take him too seriously.”

Hoisch said his father remained close with his UCLA teammates for the remainder of his life.

Prior to his UCLA football career and after spending a year at Stanford in 1942, Al Hoisch served in the United States Army Air Corps, flying missions in Germany, India, Myanmar and China during World War II. For his service, Hoisch received three Air Medals, four Distinguished Flying Crosses and a medal from the Chinese government.

His experience in the war and the loss of several friends at the hands of the Nazis created a hatred of the Nazis that stayed with him long after the war ended.

“He could not watch – in his last 20 years – documentaries about World War II or the concentration camps,” John Hoisch said. “He’d get extremely upset.”

Eventually, Al Hoisch found a means to cope with those feelings, beginning volunteer work with animals at the Wildlife Waystation in Los Angeles. He worked hands-on with rescued animals, from macaws confiscated from circuses to bears to lions to chimpanzees. Hoisch even worked on building a pond for ducks at the Wildlife Waystation.

Throughout all of this, Hoisch remained an avid UCLA football fan, attending nearly every UCLA home game with his family for several decades. Hoisch, described by his son as a “crazy football fan,” watched UCLA games with the same enthusiasm as many of the students.

“He would be screaming in the stands just like the students,” John Hoisch said. “‘God darn it, why did you do this? You should have done this!’ We finally said, ‘Dad, that’s enough, we’re switching to Bruin basketball.’ So he became a basketball fan because it was like sitting with a madman.”

Despite all his accomplishments, both as an athlete and a pilot, Al Hoisch remained exceedingly humble and never looked for recognition, John Hoisch said.

Al Hoisch was given a lifetime pass to all UCLA sporting events but rarely made use of it. For 20 years, he sat a row in front of his wife at UCLA basketball games because of the high demand for tickets during the program’s heyday. Even then, he did not want special treatment to arrange getting a seat next to her, only making a phone call about it at the insistence of his son.

John Hoisch said Al Hoisch taught his children: “Whatever you do, try to be the very best that you can.”

Al Hoisch is survived by his wife, Rita Hoisch; his sons, John Hoisch and Tom Hoisch; John Hoisch’s wife, Debbie Hoisch, and son, Matthew Hoisch; and close friend and confidant Dr. David Squire, who often flew from Boston to visit Al Hoisch while he was ill. The family is planning a private memorial service.

Compiled by Kevin Bowman, Bruin Sports senior staff.