Hoeft was signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent in 1950. He made his major league debut on April 18, 1952 for the Tigers, and went on to pitch seven full seasons in Detroit.\n', '

On September 7, 1953, Hoeft struck out three batters on nine pitches in the seventh inning of a 6–2 win over the Chicago White Sox. Hoeft became the fourth American League pitcher and the ninth pitcher in Major League history, as well as the first since 1928, to thrown an immaculate inning.\n', '

On June 24, 1955, Hoeft surrendered the first home run in the career of Harmon Killebrew, who would eventually hit 573 home runs in his career. He was chosen to be part of the American League All-Star squad in 1955 (in his only baseball all-star selection).\n', '

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