Halsey Hall: Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Class of 1989

Halsey Hall, who was born in Minneapolis, had a long and influential career in Minnesota newspapers and broadcasting.

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.

Class: 1989.

Business: Newspaper, radio and TV.