George Hall (baseball)

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For the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, see George William Hall.
George Hall
Runs batted in
252
Teams
  National Association of Base Ball Players
Enterprise of Brooklyn (1866)
Excelsior of Brooklyn (1867)
Star of Brooklyn (1868–1869)
Brooklyn Atlantics (1870)
  National Association
Washington Olympics (1871)
Baltimore Canaries (1872–1873)
Boston Red Stockings (1874)
Athletic of Philadelphia
(1875)
  National League
Athletic of Philadelphia (1876)
Louisville Grays (1877)
Career highlights and awards

George William Hall (March 29, 1849 – June 11, 1923) was a professional

National Association and later the National League. Born in Stepney, England, Hall later immigrated to the U.S. He made his professional debut on May 5, 1871.[1] While playing for the Louisville Grays, he was banned from Major League Baseball after an 1877 gambling scandal.[2]

Early career

Prior to the inception of professional leagues, Hall played for the

Philadelphia Athletics, where he had another good season at the plate, hitting .299, with four home runs, which placed second in the league behind Jim O'Rourke's six.[4]

National League

After the 1875 season, the National Association folded, which left room for a new league to begin. In 1876, the National League came into existence, the first official "Major League". Hall's team, the Athletics, followed that movement with very little success, finishing seventh out of eight teams.[5] One of the bright spots that year for the Athletics was the hitting prowess of their star hitter, Hall. He led the team in almost all major hitting categories including a .366 batting average, 51 runs scored, and a league leading five home runs.[1] On June 17, 1876, he became the first Major League baseball player to hit two home runs in one game. Those five home runs stood as the single season home run record until Charley Jones hit nine in 1879.[citation needed]

For the 1877 baseball season, Philadelphia had been expelled from the league for refusing to go on a western road trip, late in the 1876 season, for financial reasons, so Hall moved on to play for the Louisville Grays. Again, he had an excellent season, hitting .323, scoring 51 runs, and hitting 8 triples. Surprisingly, after appearing in the league leaders for home runs the last two seasons, he did not hit one in 1877.[1]

Possible first cycle

Some baseball researchers attribute Hall as being the first major league player to

Buffalo Bisons of the National League in 1882.[6]

Gambling scandal and banishment

On October 26, 1877, Louisville club vice president Charles Chase confronted Hall and fellow Gray

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 3. The admissions also implicated teammates Al Nichols and Bill Craver. Newspapers nicknamed Hall "Gentleman George".[10][11] Hall claimed that he and Devlin helped in losses to the Cincinnati Reds on September 6 and to the minor league Indianapolis Blues on September 24‚ but he argued that since the Reds were about to be suspended and the games nullified‚ it amounted to an exhibition game. As a result of the scandal, all four players were banned for life from Major League Baseball.[citation needed
]

Hall died in

Brooklyn, New York.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "George Hall's statistics". retrosheet.org. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
  2. ISBN 978-0-313-31175-8
    .
  3. ^ "1874 National Association Standings". retrosheet.org. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
  4. ^ "1875 National Association Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Archived from the original on 2007-12-15. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
  5. ^ "1876 National League Standings". baseball-reference.com. Archived from the original on 2007-12-12. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
  6. ^ a b c d Huber, Mike. "June 14, 1876: George Hall gets five hits, but is it a cycle?". SABR. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  7. ^ "Cycles Chronologically". Retrosheet. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  8. ^ "Base Ball". The Boston Post. June 15, 1876. p. 2. Retrieved March 20, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Cincinnati vs. Athletic". Chicago Tribune. June 15, 1876. p. 5. Retrieved March 20, 2018 – via newspapers.com. Hall made a home run and three three-base hits.
  10. ISSN 0094-1700
    .
  11. ISBN 978-0-679-40459-0
    .

Further reading

External links

Preceded by
none
Single season home run record holder

1876–1879 		Succeeded by
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