[4] He grew up in a conservative, Catholic-influenced family as the son of master butcher Erwin Hoeneß and his wife Paula in Ulm.

During training camps of the South German A-Youth team at the Schöneck sports school in Baden, he shared a room with Paul Breitner for the first time.

In 1970, he played as left-sided forward with amateurs TSG Ulm 1846 and was recruited by Udo Lattek, then manager of Bundesliga club Bayern Munich.

Hoeneß immediately made an impact, scoring six times in 31 matches as the Bavarians finished in second position, behind Borussia Mönchengladbach, and adding the domestic cup.

In the 1973–74 edition of the latter competition, the final replay against Atlético Madrid, he produced one of his most outstanding performances, scoring two goals in the 4–0 victory.

However, in the final of the following year's European Cup against Leeds United, he was brutally fouled by Frank Gray and suffered an injury on his right knee from which he never fully recovered.

[7] As one of six Bayern players in the German squad, Hoeneß won both UEFA Euro 1972 and the 1974 FIFA World Cup.

In the final of the latter, against Holland, he committed a foul on Johan Cruyff in the opening minute that led to a goal from the subsequent penalty, but West Germany came from behind to win 2–1.

He also played with the national side in Euro 1976 in Yugoslavia, where he missed the decisive West German shot in the penalty shootout loss against Czechoslovakia, skying it over the crossbar.

Hoeneß is a son of a master butcher, and now co-owns HoWe Wurstwaren KG, a Nuremberg-based bratwurst factory.

[15] Hoeneß's younger brother Dieter also had a very successful career as a player in the Bundesliga and for the West Germany national team.

Hoeneß has provided financial assistance, either personally or through organizing benefit games, to other German league teams like FC St. Pauli, Hertha BSC, Borussia Dortmund, 1860 München and Hansa Rostock.

[24] Despite increasing public criticism, Hoeneß remained in his position as president and chairman of the supervisory board of Bayern Munich.

[33] During the first two weeks of his sentence, Hoeneß was housed in a larger cell with a cellmate "for medical reasons" and to help adjust to life behind bars.

In an interview with the 'FAZ,' he expressed concern about the popularity of the AfD and strongly emphasized that a return to such ideological tendencies as during the Nazi era should never be tolerated.

Hoeneß underscored the importance of political activism, even in areas like sports, and called for action against extremist tendencies.

He mentioned that he regularly watches n-tv and is particularly moved by documentaries about the Nazi era, including the concentration and extermination camps.