Feb. 14, 1913: Jimmy Hoffa is born in Brazil, Ind. Hoffa's father died when he was seven and his family moved to Detroit four years later in 1924.Spring 1931: While working on a Kroger loading dock, an 18-year-old Jimmy Hoffa organizes a coordinated work stoppage as a load of fresh strawberries arrive. Fearing the produce would spoil on the loading dock, Kroger quickly settles the strike in the workers' favor within an hour.September 24, 1936: Hoffa marries 18-year-old Josephine Poszywak. The couple remained married the rest of Hoffa's life. Josephine Hoffa passed away in 1980.(Getty Images)December 1946: Jimmy Hoffa is elected president of Teamsters Local 299, located on Trumbull Ave. just north of old Tiger Stadium.October 1952: Jimmy Hoffa is elected as an International Vice-President of the Teamsters union. Dave Beck (right) is elected union president, replacing long-time leader Dan Tobin.No description foundAugust 1958: Jimmy Hoffa spars with Robert Kennedy during the McClellan Committee's hearings on labor corruption. As both McClellan's chief counsel and later as U.S. Attorney General under his brother, President John F. Kennedy, RFK would make it his mission to "get Hoffa." The two men remained bitter rivals until Kennedy's assassination in 1968.Jan. 15, 1964: Hoffa signs the first national master freight agreement covering 400,000 Teamster drivers. Negotiating a national contract, something the Teamsters had fought for since the 1930s, would be Hoffa's greatest triumph as union leader. However, the good times didn't last long. Hoffa was also convicted of jury tampering, attempted bribery, and fraud later that year.March 7, 1967: Hoffa begins serving a 13-year sentence for jury tampering at Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary in Pennsylvania. While behind bars, he taps longtime aide Frank Fitzsimmons to run the union in his absence.Dec. 23, 1971: President Richard Nixon, who would receive the Teamsters' endorsement in 1972, commutes Hoffa's sentence and releases the labor leader less than five years into his 13 year sentence. Nixon's commutation barred Hoffa from participating in union activities until 1980, a condition Hoffa fought until his disappearance.July 30, 1975: Jimmy Hoffa disappears from the Machus Red Fox parking lot in Bloomfield Township. Sometime between 2:15-3:30 p.m., Hoffa is believed to have called his wife and friend Louis Linteau from a nearby pay phone. It was the last time anyone heard from Jimmy Hoffa. He was legally declared dead in 1982.
Feb. 14, 1913: Jimmy Hoffa is born in Brazil, Ind. Hoffa's father died when he was seven and his family moved to Detroit four years later in 1924.