Halsey Hall, who was born in Minneapolis, had a long and influential career in Minnesota newspapers and broadcasting.
Halsey Hall: Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Class of 1989
Minneapolis native had a long broadcasting and journalism career.
![January 1, 1978 Hall in the broadcast booth with Joe Boyle in the summer of 1976. When Babe Ruth died in 1948, Halsey Hall wrote with his own particular flair: "The Babe joined the Celestial All-Stars today." And that's what Halsey himself did Friday when he died of natural causes at his St. Louis Park home at the age of 79 - a Celestial All-Star for sure. June 15, 1976 June 17, 1976 January 2, 1978 Pete Hohn, Minneapolis Star Tribune](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/RDKM6UOJAQRDE4A4X2MMS4XVPM.jpg?&w=712)
The son of a newspaper reporter, Hall graduated from Minneapolis Central High School and attended the University of Minnesota.
After a stint in the U.S. Navy, he started his career as a sports writer for the Minneapolis Tribune in 1919. He moved to the St. Paul Pioneer Press before returning to Minneapolis in 1926 to cover the Minneapolis Millers baseball team for the Minneapolis Journal.
In 1934, he broadcasting Minneapolis Millers games and Gophers football games on the radio. Hall is credited with coining the phrase "Golden Gophers."
In 1939, he joined the staff of the Minneapolis Star where he covered baseball and wrote a column called, "It's A Fact."
Hall remained at the Star until 1961, when he joined the broadcast team of the Minnesota Twins. As a broadcaster, he attended more than 2,200 consecutive Twins games. He retired from the broadcasting team in 1972.
In October of 1979, nearly two years after Hall's death, the Minneapolis Star published a poll which ranked Hall as the top local sportscaster for the 1970s.
In addition to his sportswriting and broadcasting careers, Hall officiated high school and college basketball and football games. He also officiated several NFL games during the 1920s when Minneapolis had a team in the league. He also made many appearances as a public speaker and toastmaster.
The Minnesota chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research is named after Halsey Hall.
HALSEY HALL
Class: 1989.
Business: Newspaper, radio and TV.