Irwin Hoffman, Class of 2003

Irwin first learned to play tennis after finding his mother’s 1918 racquet, which he strung with twine. He went on to play at East High School, where he helped his team to the 1949 state title.

After a stint in the US Air Force, Irwin returned to Denver in 1957 and was hired as the Director of Tennis at Green Gables Country Club, a position he still holds today.

In 1958, Irwin co-developed an outreach program to fuel the growth of tennis, and then organized a summer league to provide competition for all these new players. This league (now a program of the Colorado Tennis Association) attracts more than 3,000 juniors annually.

In 1980, Irwin was honored with the CTA’s Bud Robineau Award for service to the tennis community, and in 2000 was honored by the Colorado Youth Tennis Foundation for his contributions to junior tennis in Colorado.