Hobson was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 1965.

Hobson played basketball for four years at Franklin High School in Portland, Oregon, from which he graduated in 1922.

Hobson subsequently led Southern Oregon Normal School to three consecutive league championship victories from 1933 to 1935.

The 1949 team was the first NCAA Tournament entry in the school's history and won the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League title for the first time in 16 years.

Hobson was the first coach to win championships at a major college level on both coasts.

He also pioneered intersectional play at Oregon, making the Ducks the first Western team to travel East for games.

In 1947, Hobson was named President of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).