Albert Hall (athlete)
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Albert William Hall |
| Nickname | Al |
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | American |
| Born | August 2, 1934 |
| Died | October 9, 2008 Tonopah, Nevada |
| Education | Cornell University |
| Sport | |
| Country | America |
| Sport | hammer throwing |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Olympic finals | Summer Olympics 1956, 1960, 1964 and 1968 |
Albert William "Al" Hall (August 2, 1934 – October 9, 2008) was an American hammer throw champion, who competed in the Olympics on four occasions.
Early life
Hall grew up on the family's farm in Hanson, Massachusetts, where he built up his physique using a set of weights he had constructed from concrete cylinders.[1]
Hall attended Whitman High School (now part of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School), where he was a running back on the school's football team and became an active participant on the track team during his senior year. Hall graduated from the school in 1952.[1]
He appeared on the August 14th, 1960 broadcast of
Track and field competition
He attended Cornell University, where he was the intercollegiate heptagonal track and field champion on three occasions. He set multiple meet records at major events and was captain of the 1955–56 Cornell team, winning recognition as Athlete of the Year that season by The Cornell Daily Sun.[1] He was also a member of the Quill and Dagger society.
Hall finished in first place at the US Olympic Trials in 1956, and came in fourth place, just short of a medal, at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. He finished first again at the 1960 US Olympic Trials and competed at the 1960 games in Rome, finishing in 14th place. He was the Amateur Athletic Union's national hammer champion in 1962 and 1963, and was part of the first American track and field teams to compete in the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and China in 1974. He was part of the United States team at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, finishing in 12th place.[1] He made the U.S. team for the fourth time in 1968[3] and finished 14th at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Hall fell inches short of making the U.S. team for the 1972 Olympics, despite a personal best throw of 222 feet, 8 inches at the Olympic trials and tried out as well for the 1976 U.S. Olympic team.[1][4] He competed in the indoor weight throw in both the 35-pound and 56-pound events and was national champion four times.[4]
At the
He appeared on "What's My Line" just before going to the Rome Olympics, 14 August 1960.
Personal life
In 2004, the Whitman VFW Post 697 established the Albert W. Hall Award, a cherry wood trophy with an Olympian on top, which is presented each year to a male and female student-athlete at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School who exemplifies the qualities of teamwork, dedication, and perseverance.[1] His great nephew, Jacob Ellis Hart, was awarded this honor in 2006.
He met his wife, the former Lorraine Lorey, in
Hall died at age 74 on October 9, 2008, in Tonopah of complications from Alzheimer's disease.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Pave, Marvin. "Al Hall, 74; four-time Olympian in hammer throw was from Hanson", The Boston Globe, October 17, 2008.
- YouTube
- ^ Amdur, Neil. "Connolly and Hall Capture U.S. Olympic Team Berths for 4th Time; LINDGREN BEATEN AT 5,000 METERS Flowers Fails to Get Place as Davenport Captures Hurdles -- Day Is Victor", The New York Times, September 14, 1968. Accessed November 8, 2008.
- ^ a b c d Staff. "Hall was 4-time Olympian", Telegram & Gazette, October 13, 2008. Accessed November 8, 2008.
- ^ Staff. "U.S. WOMEN POST GYMNASTIC SWEEP; Take All 7 Gold Medals at Cali -- Misses Pierce and Chace Among Victors", The New York Times, August 5, 1971. Accessed November 8, 2008.
|
| Men's track and road athletes |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Men's field athletes | ||
| Women's track athletes | ||
| Women's field athletes | ||
| Coaches |
| |
