Henry Christian Hall (February 27, 1893 – April 17, 1986) was the first person born in America to win an international

ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...

meet, and the first person internationally to jump over 200 feet. He twice set the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

for ski jumping.

Ski Jumping Highlights

Born in

Ishpeming, Michigan Ishpeming ( ) is a city in Marquette County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,470 at the 2010 census, less than it was in the 1950s and 1960s when the iron ore mines employed more workers. A statue of ...

of Norwegian immigrant parents, he learned ski jumping along with all of his five brothers. Hall became a strict

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

under the guidance of his friend Anders Haugen. Hall won the farthest distance ski jump award at the annual U.S. national championship tournament in 1914 (along with his brother Carl), 1915, and 1924. In 1916 Hall won the national ski jumping championship, and in 1915, 1917 and 1920 was second place. At the 1917 Steamboat Springs Ski Festival, he achieved a leap of 203 feet, which was ten feet better than the previous world record held by

Ragnar Omtvedt Ragnar Omtvedt (18 February 1890–31 March 1975) was a Norwegian born, American Olympic skier. Career Ragnar Omtvedt was born in Oslo, Norway. In 1912, he emigrated to the United States. He was the US Ski Jumping Champion three times (191 ...

. In 1921, Henry Hall again achieved the world record with a jump of 229 feet on the Nels Nelsen Hill in Canada. In 1925 Hall won the annual Norge Ski Club tournament. Henry Hall 1920

Club and hill development

Hall helped to establish Colorado's Hot Sulphur Springs Winter Sports Club in 1910. With his brothers he started the Detroit Ski Club. Hall built ski jumps in 1923 at

Northville, Michigan Northville is a city in Oakland and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,119 at the 2020 census. Northville is a suburb of Metro Detroit and is located about west of the city of Detroit and northeast of Ann Arbo ...

, in 1926 at

Rochester, Michigan Rochester is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 12,711 at the 2010 census. It is a northern suburb in Metro Detroit located 20 miles north of the city of Detroit. Rochester was the first European settleme ...

, and in 1936 at

Brighton, Michigan Brighton is a city in the Detroit metropolitan area in southeastern Livingston County, Michigan, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,444. Brighton forms part of the South Lyon-Howell-Brighton Urban Area. It is one of ...

Legacy

In 1967, he was inducted into the US

National Ski Hall of Fame The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Ishpeming, Michigan, the birthplace of organized skiing in the United States. Located in the state's Upper Peninsula, the building includes the hall of fame and museum, as well as a t ...

. The "Henry Hall Cup" is an award for a promising young ski jumper at the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. In 2001 he was inducted into Norway's

Sverresborg Sverresborg (Norwegian:''Sverresborg i Trondheim'') or ''Sverre Sigurdsson's castle'' (''Kong Sverres borg'') was a fort and residence built in the medieval city of Nidaros (later Trondheim) by King Sverre Sigurdsson. The fortification was built ...

Trøndelag Folkemuseum, and into the

Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame The Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for notable figures in skiing and snowboarding, including athletes, sport builders, and inspirations. Inductees *1977 - Frank Ashley, George Cranmer, Charles Minot Dole, Father John Lewis Dy ...

in 2006. "Henry Christian Hall"
at CO Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame

Ski jumping world records

References

External links