The most memorable game of all — the one he recalls whenever he’s asked to speak at a pep rally or give a motivational speech — came at the end of that season.
“There were 6 seconds left and we were behind by five or six points and somehow, we were on our own 4-yard line,” he said. “The coach called a time-out, I ran over and he asked me what I thought we should do.
“I said, ’Well, I think we better score a touchdown.”’
Hall and Jenkins agreed to let the seniors decide what play to run. Then Hall trotted back to the huddle.
“I said, ’OK, I want everybody to look down to the other end of the field. That’s where we’re going. You guys knock down everybody you can, I’ll make a few miss and outrun the rest,”’ he said.
“Well, 96 yards later, their fans were as quiet as mice.”
Hall topped 3,000 yards rushing the next two seasons, and then came his record-setting senior year. In one of his final games, he ran for 520 yards on only 11 carries, a staggering 47.3-yard average that also remains a national record.
Sugar Land won its regional championship in each of Hall’s final three seasons, as far as a team could go in those days. Recruiting letters poured in from every national powerhouse, but Hall chose to stay close to home and play for newly hired coach Bear Bryant at Texas A&M.
Being a freshman, Hall missed Bryant’s notorious summer training camp in Junction in September 1954. But when Hall saw the so-called “survivors” return to College Station later that month, he knew what might lie ahead.
“We did not even recognize them,” Hall said. “They looked thin and beat up.”
Assistant coaches praised Hall in practice, but Bryant kept him on the bench. Frustrated, Hall left the team. Later, he asked Bryant if he could come back the following season. Bryant let him, but Hall ended up quitting again.
Hall played five years of pro football, with Edmonton in the Canadian League and Baltimore, Chicago, Houston and St. Louis in the NFL. He broke his back in Baltimore and never felt quite the same after six weeks in the hospital.
He returned to Sugar Land and worked in the sugar business for 28 years, then moved to Fredericksburg and opened a barbecue restaurant. He sold it 3½ years ago and spends much of his retirement working with children at the church.
He’s in three halls of fame, including the National High School Hall of Fame. But the biggest honor, he said, came two years ago, when the Fort Bend school district put his name on a new stadium about 15 miles from the field where he played.
Hall hopes the teens who compete there learn what he did from playing the game.
“Those kids get out there and what do they have to gain except for a little pride for their school, maybe impress a girlfriend or make their moms and dads proud?” he said. “But you can get a whole lot out of this game. They’re going to learn about winning and losing. You learn a lot from both.
“To have your name on the place where they’ll learn that stuff, that’s pretty special.”
- Discuss Story On Newsvine
-
Rate Story:
LowHigh - Instant Message
MORE FROM OTHER SPORTS |
 Other sports Section Front |
| Add Other sports headlines to your news reader: |
Sponsored links