Al Hall

(1894-1964)

Nippon Athletic Club - Coach

1925

Al Hall was born in Jellico, Kentucky in 1894 and moved to Seattle in 1899.  In 1913 he graduated from Broadway High School where he was the first African American to play on the football team.  After fighting in World War I, he returned to Seattle and worked for the Buffalo Hosiery Company.  Later he was a clerk in the King County Assessor's Office.

A short man even for the time period, (he was reported to be under 5'0" tall) Hall become the first black coach to take up the sidelines with the 1925 Nippon Athletic Club which was a formidable task teaching football to the Japanese players who were best known for their baseball skills.

Al died in 1964.