The first UW-Oshkosh Athletics Hall of Fame class in 1974 featured three-sport athlete Edward Hall, widely regarded as the greatest right-tackle and right-end in Titan football history.
Hall played baseball, football and track and field for the Oshkosh Normal School from 1921-24 and was team captain of all three sports for most of his athletic career.
An Oconto native, Hall was a three-time all-state tackle in the Normal School Conference from 1921-23. At the banquet for the 1921 football team at the Rotary Club of Oshkosh, Hall was selected by his peers as the team captain, a title which he kept for his next two seasons.
The Oshkosh Advance wrote on Jan. 1, 1922, that “captain-elect Hall will have, without doubt, the greatest football team next fall which has ever [worn] the colors of the Oshkosh Normal School.”
After the Titans finished in second place with a 3-1 record in 1921, Hall led an Oshkosh team that featured Robert Kolf as quarterback to a 3-1-3 record, good for third in the conference.
Going into the 1923 season, Hall was named one of the top players in the country on the National List of Leading Players by Spalding’s Official Football Guide. In his final season, Hall and the Titans went undefeated with a 7-0 record to claim the conference title. Oshkosh outscored its opponents, 175-18, in a schedule that featured Northern Michigan, UW-Superior, UW-Whitewater, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Platteville, UW-Milwaukee, and Ripon College.
“This year in particular, Hall has been a powerful factor in winning the Normal School Championship,” read a 1923 Oshkosh Advance article. “His fighting spirit has led the team to victory many times against powerful odds. “
In his only season on the baseball team, which he was also the captain of, Hall helped the Titans to an undefeated 1922 season in which the Titans took down Lawrence College, Ripon and Milwaukee to finish 6-0.
Hall played both baseball and ran track and field in the spring of 1922 before deciding to only focus on the latter for his next two years. Hall was captain of the track team in each of his three seasons for the Titans.
In those days, freshmen were not deemed eligible to participate in athletics from the NCAA. This cut an entire season from one of the greatest to ever play for Oshkosh.
Off the field, Hall was secretary of the “O” Club, a kind of booster club for improving “school spirit and co-operation,” and was a speaker at the graduation ceremony of 1924.
After graduating from Oshkosh, Hall was an assistant basketball coach to Kolf from 1926-28. Later on, Hall spent much of his time as a high school football and basketball coach for Washington High School in Manitowoc.
According to the Oshkosh Advance in 1923, Hall had the respect of everyone on the playing field.
“It has been a by-word among opponents of Oshkosh Normal on the gridiron not to count on gains by right end runs, for on right end was one of the pluckiest, hard-lifting and most intelligent players who has ever [worn] the Gold and White.”
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Edward Hall was one of the finest all-around athletes the Titans have ever had. Hall played football, track and baseball and coached all sports.
Hall was captain of the Titan football team in 1922, captained the team again the following year as the Titans won the championship. He was an all-conference tackle in 1921-22-23 and lettered in the same campaigns.
The Oconto native lettered in track in 1922-23-24 and captained the team in 1924. He threw the hammer and discus, ran on the 880 relay, ran the low and high hurdles and put the shot.
Hall showed his versatility in 1922 when he lettered in baseball. Hall says he was a relief pitcher when track did not interfere.
The biggest thrill for Hall was coaching at Two Rivers. His basketball team was the State champion in 1941. He played football with the Oshkosh All-Stars in 1930 and his team played a tough schedule including the Green Bay Packers.
Hall also coached at Fond du Lac and Oshkosh high schools in addition to his stint at Two Rivers. At Oshkosh, he was an assistant coach in the 1950s as the Indians compiled one of the state’s finest winning traditions.
At Oshkosh he was also a coach and one of Hall’s proudest moments came as Titan coach Howard Hancock named Hall as his most outstanding tackle. Hall played with and under Robert Kolf and was a member of the 1923 undefeated football team that Hancock listed as his best team.
Hall lives in Green Bay after retirement from the public schools he taught at Green Bay Premontre High School.
