Retro Indy: Jimmy Hoffa, Hoosier rabble-rouser

As president of the Teamsters Union, Indiana native Jimmy Hoffa was the most powerfullunion leader of the 1960s and 1970s, though he spent part of that time in prison. Along the way, he made his share of enemies and was reportedly linked to the Mafia. He vanished in 1975 and his disappearance has been one of the greatest mysteries of all time.

James Riddle Hoffa was born in Brazil, Ind., on Feb. 14, 1913. Hoffa's father died when he was young and the family moved to Detroit in 1924, where he would eventually be employed in a warehouse. Hoffa was fired from his job after arguing with management about working conditions, but because of that was later hired as a union organizer for Local 299. He was elected president of the Teamsters in 1957.

Federal investigations plagued Hoffa, and he was indicted repeatedly and convicted twice. In 1964, Hoffa was convicted of attempted bribery of a grand juror and jailed for 15 years. In 1971, he was released when President Richard Nixon commuted his sentence to time served on the condition he did not participate in union activities for 10 years.

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Despite the order, Hoffa was working to displace his handpicked successor, Frank Fitzsimmons, when he disappeared. At 2 pm on July 30, 1975, Hoffa agreed to meet New Jersey Teamsters boss, Anthony "Tony Pro" Provenzan and Detroit Mafia captain, Anthony "Tony Jack" Giacalone at the Macchus Red Fox, a Detroit-area restaurant to discuss control of the Teamsters union. Hoffa climbed into the back of a 1975 maroon Mercury in the parking lot and the 62-year-old Hoffa was never seen again.

Numerous theories as to the whereabouts of Hoffa's body have included being encased in concrete at Giants Stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands, thrown into a Florida swamp or buried at a Detroit area farm just 20 miles from the restaurant where he was last seen. Hoffa was declared legally dead in 1982.

Hoffa was larger than life and the mystery surrounding his disappearance made him a cult figure in death.

Hoffa's son, James P. Hoffa, became president of the Teamsters on March 19, 1999.