Alexander Hall (soccer)
Alexander Noble Hall (3 December 1880 – 25 September 1943), sometimes known as Sandy Hall,[4] was a Scottish-Canadian professional footballer who played as a centre forward in the Scottish League for Dunfermline Athletic, Dundee, Motherwell and St Bernard's.[1][5] He was a part of Canada's gold medal-winning 1904 Olympic team and finished the tournament as joint-top scorer,[6] with three goals.[7] The goals came in the form of a hat-trick in a 7–0 win over the United States, represented by Christian Brothers College.[8]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alexander Noble Hall[1] | ||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 3 December 1880[2] | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Aberdeen, Scotland[2] | ||||||||||||
| Date of death | 25 September 1943 (aged 62)[3] | ||||||||||||
| Place of death | Toronto, Ontario, Canada[3] | ||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre forward | ||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||
| 1898–1901 | Peterhead | ||||||||||||
| 1901 | Buckie Thistle | ||||||||||||
| 1902–1903 | Toronto Scots | ||||||||||||
| 1904 | Galt F.C. | ||||||||||||
| 1905 | Westmount | ||||||||||||
| 1905 | Aberdeen | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 1905–1906 | Peterhead | ||||||||||||
| 1906–1907 | St Bernard's | 10 | (12) | ||||||||||
| 1907–1908 | Newcastle United | 6 | (2) | ||||||||||
| 1908–1910 | Dundee | 25 | (8) | ||||||||||
| 1910–1911 | Portsmouth | ||||||||||||
| 1911–1912 | Motherwell | 11 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 1912–1915 | Dunfermline Athletic | 68 | (33) | ||||||||||
| 1920–1923 | Peterhead | ||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||
| 1904 | Canada Olympic | 2 | (3) | ||||||||||
Honours
| |||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||
Personal life
Born in Aberdeen and growing up in Peterhead, Hall played amateur football and worked as a stonecutter locally before emigrating to Canada in 1901.[4] He returned to Scotland in 1905 and became a professional footballer in 1906.[4] In 1912, the Carnegie Hero Fund and the Royal Humane Society recognised Hall with awards for bravery, for his rescuing of a child from Peterhead harbour.[4] While a player with Dunfermline Athletic prior to the First World War, he also served as the club's groundsman.[4] During the war, Hall served in the Royal Garrison Artillery, the Royal Engineers, the Tank Corps and married his wife,[9] with whom he had three children.[4] The family emigrated to Toronto in 1923.[4] Hall died there on 25 September 1943 and is buried in the city's Prospect Cemetery.[10] In 1983, Hall's youngest son Tom was the world’s first recipient of a successful single lung transplant.[6]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| St Bernard's | 1906–07[5] | Scottish Second Division | 10 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 7[a] | 4 | 17 | 16 |
| Newcastle United | 1907–08[11] | First Division | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ― | 6 | 2 | |
| Dundee | 1907–08[5] | Scottish First Division | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ― | 5 | 3 | |
| 1908–09[5] | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | 3 | 0 | |||
| 1909–10[5] | 19 | 8 | 5 | 4 | ― | 24 | 12 | |||
| Total | 25 | 8 | 7 | 7 | ― | 32 | 15 | |||
| Motherwell | 1911–12[5] | Scottish First Division | 11 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ― | 16 | 0 | |
| Dunfermline Athletic | 1912–13[5] | Scottish Second Division | 25 | 18 | 7 | 0 | ― | 32 | 18 | |
| 1913–14[5] | 21 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 6[a] | 0 | 27 | 11 | ||
| 1914–15[5] | 22 | 4 | ― | 1[a] | 0 | 23 | 4 | |||
| Total | 68 | 33 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 82 | 33 | |||
| Career total | 120 | 55 | 19 | 7 | 14 | 4 | 153 | 66 | ||
- ^ a b c Appearances in Scottish Qualifying Cup
Honours
Canada Olympic
St Bernard's
Dundee
Motherwell
- Lanarkshire Cup: 1911–12[12]
Dunfermline Athletic
Peterhead
- Aberdeenshire Charity Cup: 1920–21[4]
Individual
- Summer Olympic Games top-scorer: 1904[7]
References
- ^ a b Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 122. ISBN 978-1905891610.
- ^ a b "Alexander Hall". Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- ^ a b . Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Played for Dundee and Motherwell – Sandy Hall". Dundee Football Club – Official Website. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Litster, John. Record of Pre-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.
- ^ a b c "Alexander Hall". Olympedia. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ a b "Olympic Football Top Goalscorers". My Football Facts. 6 April 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- ^ "Football, Men – Round-Robin, Match #1". Olympedia. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Newcastle United Footballers in the Great War". North East War Memorials Project. from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- ^ "Alexander Noble Hall (1880–1943)". Find A Grave. from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- ^ "Alex Hall". 11v11.com. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- ^ a b "Scots hero who won football's first Olympic gold". Scottish Sport History – devoted to our sporting heritage. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
External links
- Alexander Hall at the Canadian Soccer Association
- Alexander Hall at the Canadian Olympic Committee
- Alexander Hall at Olympics.com
- Alexander Hall at Olympedia