Frederick Michael George Hall (3 March 1985 – 24 April 2022) was a Bermudian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Early life

Hall grew up in St. George's, Bermuda, and started his football career as goalkeeper for the

St. George's Colts The St. George's Colts is a Bermudian football team based in St. George's, Bermuda. The club presently competes in the Bermudian Premier Division, the top tier of football in Bermuda Association football is one of the biggest sports in Bermud ...

in the island's junior league. From 2000 to 2004, he attended

Holderness School , established = 1879 , type = Private high school , locale = , religion = Episcopal , image = , grades =9-12, PG , head_name = Headmaster , head = R. Phillip Peck , city = Holderness , state = New Hampshire , country = USA , students ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, where he was an all-state and a Lake Region All-Star, as well as being a ''Boston Globe'' All-Scholastic player, an All-New England selection, and a nominee for the Boston All-Scholastic Player of the Year, and was honored as a member of the NEPSSA Senior All-Star Game.

College career

Hall began playing

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

at the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

in 2004, earning his first-career victory, recording six saves, in USF’s 4–1 win over

East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its orig ...

. He transferred to

Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University () is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees through its College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Engineering, School of C ...

in 2006. At Quinnipiac, his goalkeeper coach was former

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and West Ham United goalkeeper

Shaka Hislop Neil Shaka Hislop CM (born 22 February 1969) is a retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in England, he played for them at under-21 level before representing Trinidad and Tobago at senior international level. The majority of his ...

, who continued to be involved in his career later, arranging trials for Hall. Hall was a three-year starter for the Bobcats, earning 26 wins and 22 shutouts, while leading them to back-to-back NEC Tournament berths for the first time in program history in 2008 and 2009. In 2007, as a sophomore he the NCAA in save percentage (.915 or 91.5%) and saves per game (7.38). In 2007 and 2008, he was named to the All-

NEC is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It prov ...

Second Team. During his senior year in 2009, he led the entire country with 121 saves. He was named to ESPN Soccernet's Top 10 Goalkeepers of 2010 Class of Prospects list following his senior season, also being named an All-NEC First Team All-star and named to the All-Tournament team, and a 2009 Adidas National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-North Atlantic Regional Second Team. He was also named the Bobats MVP and the Players' Player of the Year Award.

Club career

In the winter of 2009, Hall was invited to trials with

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

, but opted to finish university before attempting trials or pursuing professional football. He then joined the Bermuda Hogges in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

. Hall was allowed to leave the Hogges prior to the end of the 2010 PDL season to attend a trial in England at League 1 team

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

. Hall made his first appearance for The Pilgrims on trial, having come on for the injured

Romain Larrieu Romain Larrieu (born 31 August 1976) is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, most notably in the Football League for Plymouth Argyle. He started his career at Montpellier in 1994. After failing to make an appearanc ...

in an away defeat against Devon rivals

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

in a pre-season game that ended 3–1 to The Gulls. He was unable to sign with Plymouth, who were under

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

at the time. in addition, Argyle manager Peter Reid described Hall's performance during trials as "smashing", with no firm deal in place, Hall returned home to Bermuda after the two-week trial with the possibility of returning to Argyle later in the year. In 2011, he played with

in the

Bermudian Premier Division The Bermudian Premier Division (officially the Digicel Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) is the highest level of professional football in Bermuda. Teams in this league (currently ten) compete for the national title and theoretically ...

. On 7 July 2011, Hall signed a one-year deal with English

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side Northampton Town. Hall made his Northampton Town debut in an away game against

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

on 7 January 2012 after new signing

Shane Higgs Shane Peter Higgs (born 13 May 1977) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He made 306 appearances in the Football League and Football Conference between 1996 and 2012, most notably spending ten years at Chelte ...

suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in training after having only played a few games for Northampton himself. Afterwards, he went on trial with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

. On 21 July 2012, during his three-week trial with Toronto FC, Hall debuted against

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...

in a friendly that ended in a 1–1 draw. Hall signed a contract with Toronto FC on 31 July 2012. Hall made his league debut on 22 August, in a 2–1 away defeat to Columbus Crew. In a

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

match against Mexican club

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V. (), commonly known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club that competes in the Liga MX. It is located in northern Mexico and represents the urban area of La Comarca Lagunera, made up o ...

on 28 August, Hall made a notable save while a black cat sprinted across the field behind him. Hall was released by Toronto in December 2012. After returning to Bermuda, he went back to the United Kingdom in September 2013 to pursue a new contract. In March 2014, he signed a short-term contract with

side Burton Albion, but did not make any appearances. On 7 August 2014, Hall returned to England, joining

Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...

side

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

following a successful pre-season trial period. He departed the club on 27 August after making four appearances for the club as a non-contract player (playing for free), but a lack of finances meant they could not retain Hall's services permanently. Afterwards, he joined Oxford City, making his first and only appearance on 4 October against Colwyn Bay. On 8 October 2014, he signed for Conference Premier club AFC Telford United. Hall made his debut in a 3–1 away win against

Woking F.C. Woking Football Club is a professional association football club, based in Woking, Surrey, England. Founded in 1887, the club plays its home matches at The Laithwaite Community Stadium and is nicknamed the Cardinals, often shortened to the Card ...

on 20 October. He left the club after the season after the club was relegated having made 23 total appearances for the club (21 in league play). In July 2015, Hall went on trial with

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland f ...

side

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

, signing with them later that month. He made his debut against

Derry City Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

on 17 July 2015, it ended in a 0–0 draw. He was named Limerick FC Official Supporters’ Club Player of the Month for September. In November 2015, he extended his contract for another two seasons. On 28 August 2016, Hall won the First Division title with Limerick with six games to spare with a 3–2 win against UCD. He was named to the 2016 PFAI First Division Team of the Year. Hall left the club by mutual consent in February 2018 to return to his native Bermuda. He later returned to play with

, serving as team captain and a coach. He was named the top goalkeeper of the Bermudian First Division during the 2019-20 season, helping the Colts earn promotion to the

International career

Hall represented the Bermuda national team at U17, U21 and senior level. Hall made his full debut against

on 2 September 2011.

Personal life

On 24 April 2022, Hall was killed in a car crash in Bermuda.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Freddy 1985 births 2022 deaths People from St. George's Parish, Bermuda Bermudian footballers Association football goalkeepers Bermuda international footballers USL League Two players English Football League players Major League Soccer players League of Ireland players South Florida Bulls men's soccer players Quinnipiac Bobcats men's soccer players Bermuda Hogges F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Toronto FC players Burton Albion F.C. players Chester F.C. players Oxford City F.C. players AFC Telford United players Limerick F.C. players Bermudian expatriate footballers Bermudian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States Bermudian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England Bermudian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate soccer players in Canada Bermudian expatriate sportspeople in Ireland Expatriate association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Road incident deaths in Bermuda