Hoover was born in Brawley, in Imperial County, California, in 1915. He spent most of his childhood in Pomona, California, and played high school and junior college baseball there.\n', '

Hoover began his professional baseball career in 1937 playing for the Rock Island Islanders of the Western League and the Indianapolis Indians of the American Association. He next played for five years with the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League from 1938 to 1942. In 1942, he compiled a .327 batting average with 34 doubles, 10 triples, 11 home runs, 62 RBIs and 14 stolen bases.\n', '

On October 1, 1942, the Detroit Tigers purchased Hoover from the Stars after all three Detroit shortstops — Billy Hitchcock, Johnny Lipon, and Murray Franklin — were inducted in the military during World War II. Hoover had a draft deferred status as a married man with a family. At the time of Detroit\'s purchase of Hoover, The Sporting News described him as "hustle personified" and "not a chatterbox type." Physically, it described him as "a regular Adonis" with a "wasp-like waist" and "a fine pair of shoulders and a strong pair of legs to keep him in the lineup day after day."\n', '

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