Forrest Hall
{{Short description|American football player (1921–2001)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Forrest Hall
| image = Forrest Hall 1947.jpg
| caption = Hall, circa 1947
| number = 88, 21
| position = Running back
Return specialist
| birth_date = {{birth date|1921|10|29}}
| birth_place = Oil City, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2001|2|14|1921|10|29}}
| death_place = Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 8
| weight_lb = 155
| high_school = St. Joseph
(Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania)
| college = Duquesne
San Francisco
| draftyear = 1945
| draftround = 9
| draftpick = 85
| pastteams = * San Francisco 49ers (1948)
- Erie Vets (1950)
| highlights = * Third-team All-American (1946)
| statleague = AAFC
| statlabel1 = Rushing yards
| statvalue1 = 413
| statlabel2 = Rushing average
| statvalue2 = 6.3
| statlabel3 = Rushing touchdowns
| statvalue3 = 2
| statlabel4 = Receptions
| statvalue4 = 4
| statlabel5 = Receiving yards
| statvalue5 = 87
| statlabel6 = Return yards
| statvalue6 = 466
| pfr = H/HallFo20
}}
Forrest Hall (October 29, 1921 – February 14, 2001) was an American football running back and return specialist who played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) for the San Francisco Forty-Niners and American Football League (AFL) for the Erie Vets. He played college football at San Francisco.
College career
Hall originally attended Duquesne University on a basketball scholarship. He played both basketball and football for two seasons before joining the Army Air Force during World War Two. In 1942, he rushed for a 60-yard touchdown to beat Villanova in a 6–0 upset victory.{{cite web|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1942/11/23/85611190.html?pageNumber=28|title=DUQUESNE UPSETS VILLANOVA, 6 TO 0|work=The New York Times|publisher=Associated Press|date=November 23, 1942|access-date=July 10, 2020}} Hall played football for the Fourth Air Force's football team and eventually went to the East-West Shrine Game as the branch's representative. After the war, Hall enrolled at the University of San Francisco using the GI Bill and joined the San Francisco Dons football team.{{cite web|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1946/10/14/93159012.html?pageNumber=35|title=DETROIT U. ELEVEN TAKES COAST GAME|work=The New York Times|publisher=Associated Press|date=October 14, 1946|access-date=July 10, 2020}} In his first season with the team, Hall set an NCAA record with 36.2 yards per kickoff return and was named All-Pacific Coast by the Associated Press.{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Forrest-Scooter-Hall-2950496.php|title=Forrest "Scooter" Hall|first=Tanya|last=Schevitz|work=San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=July 10, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1946/11/28/93188151.html?pageNumber=49|title=COAST ELEVEN SELECTED|work=The New York Times|publisher=Associated Press|date=November 28, 1946|access-date=July 10, 2020}}
Professional career
Hall was selected in the ninth round of the 1945 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles while still in the military.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yV7lvstPuqgC|title=The Eagles Encyclopedia|first1=Ray|last1=Didinger|first2=Robert S.|last2=Lyons|chapter=Appendix B:Sats, Records, All-Time Roster, and Draft|publisher=Temple University Press|year=2005|isbn=9781592134540|access-date=July 10, 2020}} After graduating from San Francisco, Hall signed with the San Francisco 49ers of the All-America Football Conference. In his lone season with the 49ers, Hall rushed for 413 yards and two touchdowns on 66 carries while catching four passes for 87 yards and returning 13 kickoffs for 369 yards and three punts for 97 yards.{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=79BHDwAAQBAJ&q=Forrest+Hall+oil+city&pg=PA225|title=The All-America Football Conference: Players, Coaches, Records, Games and Awards, 1946-1949|first1=Kenneth R.|last1=Crippen|first2=Matt|last2=Reaser|chapter=Part 8:Player Register|page=225|year=2018|isbn=9781476670959|access-date=July 10, 2020}} He was retroactively named All-Pro by the Professional Football Researchers Association and NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle referred to him as his "personal favorite" 49er in the foreword to a book on the team in 1986.{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=79BHDwAAQBAJ&q=Forrest+Hall+oil+city&pg=PA225|title=The All-America Football Conference: Players, Coaches, Records, Games and Awards, 1946-1949|first1=Kenneth R.|last1=Crippen|first2=Matt|last2=Reaser|chapter=Part 2: PFRA All-Pro Selections|page=12|year=2018|isbn=9781476670959|access-date=July 10, 2020}} Hall played briefly for the Erie Vets of the American Association in 1950 before retiring from football.
Post-football life
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://usfdons.com/hof.aspx?hof=105 San Francisco Dons Hall of Fame bio]
{{Eagles1945DraftPicks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Forrest}}
Category:San Francisco Dons football players
Category:Players of American football from Pennsylvania
Category:San Francisco 49ers (AAFC) players
Category:American football running backs
Category:American football return specialists
Category:People from Oil City, Pennsylvania
Category:Sportspeople from Venango County, Pennsylvania
Category:Duquesne Dukes men's basketball players
Category:Duquesne Dukes football players
Category:United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II