 Hall, circa 1947 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 88 | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Running back/Return specialist | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | (1921-10-29)October 29, 1921 Oil City, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died: | February 14, 2001(2001-02-14) (aged 79) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 155 lb (70 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | St. Joseph (Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | San Francisco | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1945: 9th round, 85th pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Forrest Hall (October 29, 1921 – February 14, 2001) was anAmerican footballrunning back andreturn specialist who played in theAll-America Football Conference (AAFC) for theSan Francisco Forty-Niners andAmerican Football League (AFL) for theErie Vets. He playedcollege football atSan Francisco.
Hall originally attended Duquesne University on a basketball scholarship. He played both basketball and football for two seasons before joining the Army Air Force during World War Two. In 1942, he rushed for a 60-yard touchdown to beat Villanova in a 6–0 upset victory.[1] Hall played football for theFourth Air Force's football team and eventually went to the East-West Shrine Game as the branch's representative. After the war, Hall enrolled at theUniversity of San Francisco using the GI Bill and joined theSan Francisco Dons football team.[2] In his first season with the team, Hall set an NCAA record with 36.2 yards per kickoff return and was named All-Pacific Coast by theAssociated Press.[3][4]
Hall was selected in the ninth round of the 1945 NFL Draft by thePhiladelphia Eagles while still in the military.[5] After graduating from San Francisco, Hall signed with theSan Francisco 49ers of theAll-America Football Conference. In his lone season with the 49ers, Hall rushed for 413 yards and two touchdowns on 66 carries while catching four passes for 87 yards and returning 13 kickoffs for 369 yards and three punts for 97 yards.[6] He was retroactively named All-Pro by theProfessional Football Researchers Association and NFL commissionerPete Rozelle referred to him as his "personal favorite" 49er in the foreword to a book on the team in 1986.[7][3] Hall played briefly for theErie Vets of theAmerican Association in 1950 before retiring from football.[3]
Hall worked part-time as an electrician while playing and began working full-time after his playing career ended until retiring when he was 65. Hall died on February 14, 2001.[3]