Cletus Elwood "Boots" Poffenberger (July 1, 1915 – September 1, 1999) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers (1937–1939) and Brooklyn Dodgers (1939).

Boots also fell for the "hidden ball trick" as a rookie, caught by Frank Crosetti on July 16, 1937.

Baseball writer Joe Falls wrote that "Poffenberger aroused great expectations with a 10–5 season as a rookie in 1937, but his performance never approached the heights of his antics...He loved to live it up.

"[2] Stories about Poffenberger's late night drinking and poor training practices caused him to fall out of favor with the team.

After a night of heavy drinking while on a road trip with the Tigers in 1937, Poffenberger called room service and said, "I'll have the breakfast of champions."

When it came time for the commercial plug, the interviewer asked, "Now, tell us, Boots, what is your favorite breakfast, taken with cream, sugar and some sort of fruit?"

"[4] After returning to the Tigers from a one-day "disappearance", manager Mickey Cochrane stood over him in the clubhouse and demanded to know his whereabouts.

Poffenberger refused to report to Montreal (he asked to be sent to Beaumont instead, because he thought the night life was better)[5] and was placed on the ineligible list for 1939.

In three seasons in the major leagues, Poffenberger won 16 games and lost 12 with an earned run average of 4.75.