Forrest Maynard "Buck" Hall, sometimes listed as Forrest Maywood Hall and Forrest Mayward Hall (November 30, 1869 – May 1, 1961), was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and coach. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1892 and 1893, and was a member of Princeton's undefeated 1893

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

team. He served as the head football coach at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

in 1894, compiling a record of 1–3, but also leading the team to the highest point total in school history, a 94–0 victory over

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

. He later played at the

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 ...

position for the 1895 Michigan Wolverines football team and for the Butte Athletic Club in 1896 and 1897. He also served as an assistant football coach at Michigan during the 1898 and 1909 seasons.

Early years

Hall was born in Bloomfield Township in Logan County, Ohio, in 1869. His parents were John Hall and Eliza (Bughman) Hall. At the time of the 1880 United States Census, he was attending school at Pease Township, Belmont County, Ohio. His permanent residence was with his mother Eliza Hall (and sister Nevada Hall) in Bloomfield Township. Hall was raised in Jackson Center in Shelby County, Ohio. He attended preparatory school at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

during the 1890–91 academic year.

Princeton

Hall enrolled at

in 1892 and studied there for two years as a special student. He also played at the guard position for the

Princeton Tigers football The Princeton Tigers football program represents Princeton University and competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I Football Championship, Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as a member ...

team in 1892 and 1893. The 1893 Princeton Tigers compiled an 11–0 record and has been recognized as that season's

team.

Auburn

In the fall of 1894, Hall served as the head football coach at

. He was the third head coach with an

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

background to be hired at Auburn. Auburn officials reportedly thought that "with a Princeton man (F. M. Hall) at the helm," they had the right man in charge of the football team. Hall's team outscored opponents 106 to 48, but compiled a record of 1–3. Auburn's 94–0 victory over Georgia Tech in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

was the highlight of Auburn's 1894 season. The score remains the highest single game point total, and the greatest margin of victory, in the history of

Auburn Tigers football The Auburn Tigers football program represents Auburn University in the sport of American college football. Auburn competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Confe ...

. Hall coached only one year at Auburn and was replaced by

John Heisman John William Heisman ( ; October 23, 1869 – October 3, 1936) was a player and coach of American football, baseball, and basketball, as well as a sportswriter and actor. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College, Buchtel College ...

Michigan

After leaving Auburn, Hall enrolled in the law department at the University of Michigan. He received a Bachelor of Laws degree from Michigan in 1896. While attending Michigan, Hall played at the right guard position for the 1895 Michigan Wolverines football team that compiled an 8–1 record, won seven of their games by shutouts, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 266 to 14. Hall also competed in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

for Michigan's track team. In June 1895, at the Western Intercollegiate Amateur Association meet in Chicago, Hall won the shot put event with a record-breaking distance of over 44 feet. Hall held the University of Michigan shot put record (44 feet 3 inches) until 1904 when it was broken by Olympic gold medalist Ralph Rose.

Later years

After graduating from Michigan, Hall moved to

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the 2 ...

, where he practiced law and played football for the Butte Athletic Club. In February 1898, Hall was hired as the head football coach at Michigan after Gustave Ferbert announced that he would not return. At the time of his hiring, the ''Detroit Free Press'' wrote of Hall: "His ability to coach the line men is unquestioned, and his general knowledge of the game will make him a splendid man for the position." In the end, Ferbert did return as the head coach, and Hall was an assistant coach for the 1898 Michigan Wolverines football team that compiled a 10–0 record and won Michigan's first Western Conference championship. At the time of the

1900 United States census The 1900 United States census, conducted by the Census Office on June 1, 1900, determined the resident population of the United States to be 76,212,168, an increase of 21.01% from the 62,979,766 persons enumerated during the 1890 census. It w ...

, Hall was living with his mother, Eliza Hall, in Jackson Township, Shelby County, Ohio. He was employed as an attorney-at-law. He also served as the head football coach at

Centre College Centre College, formally Centre College of Kentucky, is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, United States. Chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819, the col ...

Danville, Kentucky Danville is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city and the county seat of Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micr ...

during the 1901 season. In November 1901, ''The Michigan Alumnus'' reported that Hall was practicing law at Jackson Center, Ohio. In 1903, he was the head football coach at Heidelberg College in

Tiffin, Ohio Tiffin is a city in Seneca County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Developed along the Sandusky River, Tiffin is located about southeast of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo. The population was 17,953 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

. In 1909, he returned to Ann Arbor as an assistant coach under head coach Fielding H. Yost for the 1909 Michigan Wolverines football team. At the time of the

1910 United States census The 1910 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau on April 15, 1910, determined the resident population of the United States to be 92,228,496, an increase of 21 percent over the 76,212,168 persons enumerated during the 1900 census ...

, Hall was living in a rooming house operated by Victoria Doty in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

. He was employed by a packing company. At the time of the

1930 United States census The 1930 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau one month from April 1, 1930, determined the resident population of the United States to be 122,775,046, an increase of 13.7 percent over the 106,021,537 persons enumerated during t ...

, he was living with his wife, Victoria, in Springfield, Missouri. He was employed as the proprietor of a whole nut house.Census entry for Forrest M. Hall, age 58, born in Ohio, parents both born in Ohio. Wife Victoria, age 38, born in Michigan. Forrest was the proprietor and Victoria the bookkeeper of a "whole nut house." Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census atabase on-line Year: 1930; Census Place: Springfield, Greene, Missouri; Roll: 1188; Page: 24A; Enumeration District: 9; Image: 548.0; FHL microfilm: 2340923.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Forrest M. 1869 births 1961 deaths 19th-century players of American football American football guards Auburn Tigers football coaches Centre Colonels football coaches Heidelberg Student Princes football coaches Michigan Wolverines football players Michigan Wolverines football coaches Michigan Wolverines men's track and field athletes Princeton Tigers football players Ohio lawyers University of Michigan Law School alumni People from Logan County, Ohio People from Shelby County, Ohio Coaches of American football from Ohio Players of American football from Ohio Track and field athletes from Ohio