Courtney Ceaser Hall (August 26, 1968 – April 29, 2021) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player. He was a center and

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

Early life

Hall played football at Banning High School in Wilmington,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and was the starting

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

his junior and senior years. His teammates included Jamelle Holieway, Leroy Holt, and Mark Tucker.

College career

In 1985, aged 16, Courtney, a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist, graduated from high school and enrolled at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

. He played four years for the

Rice Owls The Rice Owls are the sports teams representing Houston's Rice University in college sports. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest. Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics. A member of the American Athletic Conference, Rice sponsors ...

. In 1988, he played for a Rice team which compiled a 0-11 record, but he was still drafted very high, in the second round of the

1989 NFL draft The 1989 NFL draft (also known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting) was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft was held April 23–24, 1989, at the Marriott Marquis in Ne ...

: he was the #37 pick overall. Hall graduated from Rice in 1990 with a dual degree in Economics and Managerial Studies.

Professional career

San Diego Chargers

Hall played eight seasons for the

from 1989 to 1996. When he made his NFL debut on September 10, 1989, he was just 21 years and 15 days old. He was the youngest regular player in the NFL that year. He was a four-time Pro Bowler and captained the only Chargers football team to play in a

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

. He was the starter in all 118 regular-season games and 6 playoff games in which he appeared. He missed half of the 1996 season because of injury, and was released in February 1997.

Denver Broncos

Hall was out of football for the entire 1997 season, but he signed a free agent contract with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

before the 1998 season. He was cut at the end of the pre-season.

Later life

In 2003, he graduated with a joint J.D./M.B.A. degree from the

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 180 full-time and part-time facul ...

and the

University of Chicago Booth School of Business The University of Chicago Booth School of Business (branded as Chicago Booth) is the graduate business school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1898, Chicago Booth is the second-oldest ...

. Hall also served on the Rice University Investment Committee, helping to manage the university's $4.5 billion endowment. Hall was a managing partner of Hillcrest Venture Partners, a

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

firm. He also served as New York City Mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

's appointee to the New York City Campaign Finance Board. The Texas Sports Hall of Fame inducted Hall into the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame in 2019. He died unexpectedly on April 29, 2021, reportedly at his childhood home in Southern California. A specific cause of death was not announced. He was buried on

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Isla ...

References

External links

Profile at NFL.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Courtney 1968 births 2021 deaths American football centers American football offensive guards Players of American football from Los Angeles Rice Owls football players San Diego Chargers players Rice University alumni University of Chicago Law School alumni University of Chicago Booth School of Business alumni Phineas Banning High School alumni