Alexander Hall (soccer)

Alexander Noble Hall (3 December 1880 – 25 September 1943), sometimes known as Sandy Hall,^[4] was a professional soccer player who played as a centre forward in the Scottish League for Dunfermline Athletic, Dundee, Motherwell, and St Bernard's.^[1][5] Born in Scotland, he was a part of Canada's gold medal-winning 1904 Olympic team and finished the tournament as joint-top scorer,^[6] with three goals.^[7] The goals came in the form of a hat-trick in a 7–0 win over the United States, represented by Christian Brothers College.^[8]

Alexander Hall

Hall with Galt in 1904
Personal information
Full name	Alexander Noble Hall[1]
Date of birth	3 December 1880[2]
Place of birth	Aberdeen, Scotland[2]
Date of death	25 September 1943(1943-09-25) (aged 62)[3]
Place of death	Toronto, Ontario, Canada[3]
Position(s)	Centre forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1898–1901	Peterhead
1901	Buckie Thistle
1902–1903	Toronto Scots
1904	Galt
1905	Westmount
1905	Aberdeen	0	(0)
1905–1906	Peterhead
1906–1907	St Bernard's	10	(12)
1907–1908	Newcastle United	6	(2)
1908–1910	Dundee	25	(8)
1910–1911	Portsmouth
1911–1912	Motherwell	11	(0)
1912–1915	Dunfermline Athletic	68	(33)
1920–1923	Peterhead
	Mimico Beach
International career
1904	Canada Olympic	2	(3)
Medal record Men's football Canada Olympic Games 1904
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Personal life

Born in Aberdeen and growing up in Peterhead, Hall played amateur football and worked as a stonecutter locally before emigrating to Canada in 1901.^[4] He returned to Scotland in 1905 and became a professional footballer in 1906.^[4] In 1912, the Carnegie Hero Fund and the Royal Humane Society recognised Hall with awards for bravery for his rescue of a child from Peterhead harbour.^[4] While a player with Dunfermline Athletic prior to the First World War, he also served as the club's groundsman.^[4] During the war, Hall served in the Royal Garrison Artillery, the Royal Engineers, the Tank Corps, and married his wife,^[9] with whom he had three children.^[4] The family emigrated to Toronto in 1923 and he worked at Wellington Destructor.^[4][10] Hall died in Toronto on 25 September 1943.^[3]

In 1983, Hall's youngest son, Tom, became the first world's recipient of a successful single-lung transplant.^[6]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
St Bernard's	1906–07[5]	Scottish Second Division	10	12	0	0	7[b]	4	17	16
Newcastle United	1907–08[11]	First Division	6	2	0	0	―		6	2
Dundee	1907–08[5]	Scottish First Division	3	0	2	3	―		5	3
	1908–09[5]	Scottish First Division	3	0	0	0	―		3	0
	1909–10[5]	Scottish First Division	19	8	5	4	―		24	12
	Total		25	8	7	7	―		32	15
Motherwell	1911–12[5]	Scottish First Division	11	0	5	0	―		16	0
Dunfermline Athletic	1912–13[5]	Scottish Second Division	25	18	7	0	―		32	18
	1913–14[5]	Scottish Second Division	21	11	0	0	6[b]	0	27	11
	1914–15[5]	Scottish Second Division	22	4	―		1[b]	0	23	4
	Total		68	33	7		7	0	82	33
Career total			120	55	19	7	14	4	153	66

1. Includes Scottish Cup, FA Cup
2. Appearances in Scottish Qualifying Cup

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Canada Olympic	1904	2	3
Total		2	3

Scores and results list Canada Olympic's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hall goal.

List of international goals scored by Alexander Hall

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	16 November 1904	World's Fair Stadium, St. Louis, United States	Christian Brothers College	1–0	7–0	1904 Summer Olympics	[8]
2				?–0
3				?–0

Honours

Galt FC

• Summer Olympic Games: 1904^[6]

St Bernard's

• Scottish League Second Division: 1906–07^[5]

Dundee

• Scottish Cup: 1909–10^[5]

Motherwell

• Lanarkshire Cup: 1911–12^[12]

Dunfermline Athletic

• Fife Cup: 1913–14^[12]

Peterhead

• Aberdeenshire Charity Cup: 1920–21^[4]

Individual

• Summer Olympic Games top-scorer: 1904^[7]