George William Hall (12 March 1912 – 22 May 1967) was an English

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 ...

who played for

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

and the England national team during the 1930s.

Football career

Hall was born in

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

, and played for Notts County from 1930 before joining Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £2,600 in 1932. He was a versatile

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

and skillful dribbler. In his later career he played at full-back. He made his international debut against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in December 1933 and went on to appear in a total of ten international games for England. During England's match against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

on 16 November 1938, Hall scored five goals during a 30-minute period either side of

half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

. Three of these were within a four-minute spell and Hall still holds the record for the fastest

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

for England in an international match. During the Second World War, Hall continue to play in friendly matches for Spurs whilst also being a member of the London Police Reserve.

Later career

Ill-health brought an end to his playing career in 1945 and he suffered the amputation of both lower legs. He continued his association with the game as a vice-president of the Spurs Supporters Club and in coaching roles at

Clapton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profess ...

and other clubs. Testimonial games were played at both Tottenham and Notts County grounds in 1946. From 1954 he became a publican. The Willie Hall Memorial Trophy is still played for each year having been inaugurated in 1967, the year he died, by the Newark Football Alliance. Hall's fame was enhanced on 16 February 1959, when he was chosen as the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' by BBC Television host

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ ...

. But, no longer a man of such stamina, Hall spent more time with his sister back in Newark, fishing, and nostalgic sharing with old friends. Here, having watched Tottenham beat

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

2–1 in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

on 20 May, Hall died of a heart attack on 22 May 1967. His thanksgiving service took place on 30 May at St Mary Magdalene Church, followed by cremation, and the ashes were later interred at Newark Cemetery. Tribute has been paid locally to a man of great bravery and talent, not just in the N.A.L.H.S. plaque, but also in the Willie Hall Cup, presented annually to the winners of the Newark Sunday Alliance. 2006 brought his installation within the Tottenham Hotspur Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Hall's profile on englandstats.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Willie 1912 births 1967 deaths English footballers England international footballers Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Association football midfielders Association football defenders Sportspeople from Newark-on-Trent English Football League players English Football League representative players Footballers from Nottinghamshire Chelmsford City F.C. wartime guest players