Gone Like a Puff of Smoke

The Jimmy Hoffa Gift Lighter

The Lighter:

This USA made, 14 karat gold plated lighter was manufactured by Florentine.

It is embossed with the inscription “A GIFT FROM James R. Hoffa” above the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) logo. This lighter was most likely produced sometime when he was the Teamsters’ President (1957-1971).

The Infamous:

Jimmy Hoffa artfully giving attorney Robert Kennedy “the finger” while itching his eye, during a Senate committee hearing in 1957.

James Riddle Hoffa (born Valentine’s Day February 14, 1913 – disappeared July 30, 1975; declared dead July 30, 1982) is America’s most famous/infamous labor organizer. Known for his leadership of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the corruption charges he faced, and for his mysterious disappearance that has become perhaps the century’s most famous unsolved mystery.

When Hoffa was seven, his father died of lung disease from working Coal Mines. Hoffa dropped out of school early to support his family and found work in a Detroit Kroger grocery warehouse. The poor working conditions and unfair treatment drove teenage Hoffa to rally the workers and engineer a strike. He had timed the strike during a large strawberry delivery in jeopardy of spoiling, and negotiated a new contract within an hour. Hoffa’s “strawberry boys” joined the Teamsters within the year of the incident.

Hoffa rose quickly in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and he was elected president in 1957, a position he held until 1971. While Hoffa was president, the Teamsters’ membership grew to the largest of any union in the U.S.

Hoffa’s devotion to American workers and their families is legendary. He dedicated his life to their betterment and was an advocate in the war on poverty. Congressman Elmer Holland (D-PA) was quoted as saying, “Jimmy Hoffa has put more bread and butter on the tables for American kids than all his detractors put together.”

He was also a strong adbocate for civil rights supporting a young Martin Luther King Jr. and others in the movement long before they gained national attention. He refused to condone segregated in local unions, even at the cost of losing campaigns in the south. “If they want segregation, we don’t want them,” he said. “We pride ourselves on the fact there are no Jim Crow locals in our union.”

Hoffa’s influence and rumored Mafia connections soon brought him under federal scrutiny which would eventually lead to Hoffa’s conviction in 1964 on jury tampering, attempted bribery, and fraud.

President Richard Nixon commuted his sentence in 1971, stipulating that he avoid any further union activity until 1980.

Hoffa ignored the stipulation. While trying to regain the Teamsters’ presidency, he disappeared from the parking lot outside of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Township, a suburb of Detroit, July 30, 1975. He was never seen again.

Even after 47 years, the FBI still follows up on leads, and in June of this year investigated under a Jersey City Bridge for his remains.

Hoffa had two children, Barbara Ann Crancer, who would become a judge, and James P. Hoffa, who like his father, became president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in 1999.

Personal Thoughts:

I routinely buy collections of lighters wherever I can get them. In January 2020 a gentleman in Detroit was selling a bunch of old Teamsters’ memorabilia on Facebook Marketplace. It said that it included many lighters. It was for a low amount and I agreed to purchase the lot. I only really glanced in the bag as I purchased it because it was one of those awkward parking lot sales and it was at the start of the pandemic and my wife already thought I was crazy for even leaving the house. Little did she know I would purchase a mystery. There were a bunch of different teamster logo lighters from throughout the years, but in the bottom of the bag was the box you see above with the handwritten “Don’t you Ever.” In the box was the Hoffa lighter pictured at the top of the article. I did not reach back to the guy who sold it for details; I prefer the mystery of the message and like to come up with my own scenarios for the perceived threat. I hope you do too.

Where to see one:

I unfortunately do not know of a museum that has one in its collection. I have searched the catalogs of the major museums of Detroit and their surrounding suburbs. If you are in Michigan, you can come see mine, it hangs on my wall.