Bill Hall (hallbi02)

From BR Bullpen

William Lemuel Hall

Bats Left, Throws Right
Height 5' 11", Weight 165 lb.
Debut April 18, 1954
Final Game September 26, 1958
Born July 30, 1928 in Moultrie, GA USA
Died January 1, 1986 in Moultrie, GA USA

[edit] Biographical Information

Bill Hall signed as an amateur free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates before the 1947 season. The 19 year old catcher would spend his first season with the class D Leesburg Pirates of the Florida State League and the class C Keokuk Pirates of the Central Association, he appeared in 63 games and hit .259 in a combined effort for the year.

Hall was a left hand hitter who would spend a dozen seasons in the Pittsburgh organization from 1947 to 1958, he would see a lot of playing time with the Hollywood Stars in the PCL during the 1950's. His best year, early on, was in 1950 with the class C Hutchinson Elks of the Western Association where he hit .313 in 105 games.

He did have short stays with Pittsburgh in 1954 and '56 in which he was hitless in 10 at-bats and was hitting .344 with the Salt Lake City Bees in 1958 when he had another shot with the Pirates and responded with a .284 average in 51 games. Overall in the big leagues he hit .262 in 57 contests.

Hall would spend 13 years in pro baseball (1947-60), ending his career in 1960 with the Salt Lake City club and the Columbus Jets of the IL. Lifetime in the minors, Bill appeared in 1,201 games behind the plate, picked up 982 base hits in 3,752 at-bats, including 27 home runs, for a career .262 batting average. He carried a .982 fielding percentage at the catchers spot.

Hall, who never played in the major leagues after the 1958 season, retired to his farm in Moultrie, GA, where he died January 1, 1986, at age 57.