Donzil Hall (1993) - Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame

Donzil Hall

Induction:
1993
Class:
1958

When Donzil Hall graduated from Spencer (W.Va.) High School in 1952, his college career was delayed because he was drafted into the U.S. Army to serve in the Korean War. There he rose to the rank of Sergeant First Class and won a Combat Infantry badge among his medals, and when he left the military Marshall had a scholarship waiting for him to play on the baseball and football teams. Hall lettered for Coach Herb Royer’s football teams in 1955, 1956 and 1957 as an end who also handled place-kicking duties, but really excelled for Coach Bill Chambers on the baseball diamond. As a sophomore in 1956, Hall belted three triples and three home runs on his way to second team All-Mid-American Conference honors, and he would move up to first-team all-league recognition both in 1957 – when he batted .390 – and again in 1958. Hall logged a career batting average of .336, legging out six triples among his 23 extra-base hits. Hall became a teacher, head baseball coach and assistant football coach at Graham High School in St. Paris, Ohio, for 33 years, leading the baseball team to the 1973 Ohio state championship. In 2013 he threw out the honorary first pitch at the school’s new Donzil Hall Field, marking the 40th anniversary of the state title. Hall was enshrined in the Miami Valley Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1991. He was inducted into the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.