{{Short description|American politician (1887–1970)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Bruce Hoblitzell | image = | alt = | caption = | office = 48th Mayor of Louisville | term_start = 1957 | term_end = 1961 | predecessor = Andrew Broaddus | successor = William O. Cowger | party = Democratic | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1887|6|25}} | birth_place = Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1970|8|11|1887|6|25}} | death_place = Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. | resting_place = Cave Hill Cemetery<br />Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. | nickname = Mr. Hobby | occupation = {{hlist|Real estate agent|politician}} | spouse = {{marriage|Irene Oatley Forbes|1910}} | children = 3 }} '''Bruce Hoblitzell''' (June 25, 1887 – August 11, 1970) was mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, from 1957 to 1961. He also served as sheriff of Jefferson County, Kentucky.
==Early life== Bruce Hoblitzell was born in 1887, in Louisville, Kentucky. He was raised in Louisville and graduated from duPont Manual High School.<ref name="obit">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102704198/bruce-hoblitzell-former-louisville/ |title=Bruce Hoblitzell, Former Louisville Mayor, Dies |date=1970-08-12 |newspaper=The Courier–Journal |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2022-05-28}}{{Open access}}</ref><ref name="candidate">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal-democrats-persuade-b/150596226/ |title=Democrats Persuade Bruce Hoblitzell, Sr., To Run for Sheriff |date=1953-06-11 |newspaper=The Courier-Journal |page=17 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2024-07-03}}{{Open access}}</ref> He graduated from the Kentucky Military Institute in 1905.<ref name="obit"/><ref name="candidate"/>
==Career== From 1906 to 1912, Hoblitzell worked at the Kentucky Heating Company. He formed the McClellan-Hoblitzell Realty Company with J. A. McClellan in 1912. The company was dissolved in 1919 and became the Bruce Hoblitzell Realtors and Insurance Agency.<ref name="obit"/> He was elected sheriff of Jefferson County in 1953. On November 5, 1957, he was elected mayor on the Democratic Party ticket, defeating Republican Robert B. Diehl by about ten thousand votes. He served until November 1961.<ref name="obit"/> He was nicknamed "Mr. Hobby".<ref name="obit"/>
Hoblitzell was a member of the board and served as president of the Kosair Crippled Children's Hospital for 9 years.<ref name="candidate"/><ref name="auxiliary">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal-bruce-hoblitzell-is/150598799/ |title=Bruce Hoblitzell is Honored by State Medical Auxiliary |date=1956-09-20 |newspaper=The Courier-Journal |page=24 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2024-07-03}}{{Open access}}</ref> He also served as president of the Louisville Board of Trade for three years. He was a director of the Louisville Industrial Foundation and was a board member of the Metropolitan Sewer District from 1937 to 1954. He was also a member of the Mayor's War Housing Committee.<ref name="candidate"/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal/150670554/ |title=Here Are Candidates for City of Louisville Posts in Next Tuesday's Election |date=1957-11-03 |newspaper=The Courier-Journal |page=69 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2024-07-04}}{{Open access}}</ref> He was president of both the Louisville and Kentucky Real Estate Boards.<ref name="candidate"/>
==Personal life== Hoblitzell married Irene Oatley Forbes of Louisville on January 31, 1910.<ref name="candidate"/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal-miss-irene-forbes/150596815/ |title=Miss Irene Forbes... |date=1910-02-01 |newspaper=The Courier-Journal |page=4 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2024-07-03}}{{Open access}}</ref> They had a son and two daughters, Bruce Hoblitzell Jr., Mrs. Leo K. Broecker and Mrs. Charles Greenwood.<ref name="obit"/><ref name="candidate"/> As of 1953, he lived at 1415 St. James Court in Louisville.<ref name="candidate"/>
Hoblitzell suffered a stroke in December 1962 and remained bedridden. He died on August 11, 1970, at his home in Louisville. Hoblitzell was buried in Cave Hill Cemetery.<ref name="obit"/>
==Awards== In 1956, Hoblitzell received the Kentucky Medical Association's Auxiliary's first health citation award for his work with the Kosair Crippled Children's Hospital and "for promoting the health and welfare of the prisoners at the Jefferson County jail" while he was sheriff.<ref name="auxiliary"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{succession box|title=Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky|before=Andrew Broaddus|after=William O. Cowger|years=December 1957–December 1961}} {{s-end}} {{LouisvilleMayors}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoblitzell, Bruce}} Category:1887 births Category:1970 deaths Category:Mayors of Louisville, Kentucky Category:DuPont Manual High School alumni Category:Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery Category:20th-century mayors of places in Kentucky Category:American real estate brokers
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