Hobbits have a curious habit of finding their way into the most important moments of history during the Third Age. Whether it's Gollum carrying the Ring for longer than anyone but Sauron and then ultimately destroying it, or Frodo and Sam carrying it to Mordor, Merry and Pippin being the catalyst for the fall of Isengard, Bilbo being instrumental in the retaking of Erebor, Saruman the White meeting his end in the Shire, etc.
Obviously, Tolkien used Hobbits to stand for "the little guy" in history, so it makes sense that they wouldn't be tied up in the grand prophecies and such that so often occur around Men and Elves. But was there any hint that Hobbits would be so vital to history, before it happened? Any prophecies or signs, any secret knowledge that these little folk would be so pivotal in so many ways, all during the same 100-year stretch that would decide the fate of the world? Or was that a complete surprise, even to the wisest in Middle Earth?