Frederick Michael George Hall (3 March 1985 – 24 April 2022) was a Bermudian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

Early life

Hall grew up in St. George's, Bermuda, and started his football career as goalkeeper for the St. George's Colts in the island's junior league. From 2000 to 2004, he attended

Holderness School The Holderness School is a private, coeducational college- preparatory school in Holderness, near Plymouth, New Hampshire in the United States. The student body of 300 is drawn from 22 U.S. states and 14 foreign countries. While Holderness oper ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, where he was an all-state and a Lake Region All-Star, as well as being a ''Boston Globe'' All-Scholastic player, an All-New England selection, and a nominee for the Boston All-Scholastic Player of the Year, and was honored as a member of the NEPSSA Senior All-Star Game.

College career

Hall began playing

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

at the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

in 2004, earning his first-career victory, recording six saves, in USF's 4–1 win over

East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

. He transferred to

Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University ( ) is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut, United States. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. It also hosts the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. History What became ...

in 2006. At Quinnipiac, his goalkeeper coach was former

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

goalkeeper

Shaka Hislop Neil Shaka Hislop CM (born 22 February 1969) is a football commentator and former player who played as a goalkeeper. Born in England, he played for them at under-21 level before representing Trinidad and Tobago at senior international level. ...

, who continued to be involved in his career later, arranging trials for Hall. Hall was a three-year starter for the Bobcats, earning 26 wins and 22 shutouts, while leading them to back-to-back NEC Tournament berths for the first time in program history in 2008 and 2009. In 2007, as a sophomore he the NCAA in save percentage (.915 or 91.5%) and saves per game (7.38). In 2007 and 2008, he was named to the All-

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...

Second Team. During his senior year in 2009, he led the entire country with 121 saves. He was named to ESPN Soccernet's Top 10 Goalkeepers of 2010 Class of Prospects list following his senior season, also being named an All-NEC First Team All-star and named to the All-Tournament team, and a 2009 Adidas National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-North Atlantic Regional Second Team. He was also named the Bobats MVP and the Players' Player of the Year Award.

Club career

In the winter of 2009, Hall was invited to trials with

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

, but opted to finish university before attempting trials or pursuing professional football. He then joined the

Bermuda Hogges Bermuda Hogges were a Bermudian football team based in Hamilton, Bermuda. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Mid Atlantic Division of the Eastern ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

. Hall was allowed to leave the Hogges prior to the end of the 2010 PDL season to attend a trial in England at League 1 team

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

. Hall made his first appearance for The Pilgrims on trial, having come on for the injured

Romain Larrieu Romain Larrieu (born 31 August 1976) is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, most notably in the Football League for Plymouth Argyle. He started his career at Montpellier in 1994. After failing to make an appearanc ...

in an away defeat against Devon rivals

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

in a pre-season game that ended 3–1 to The Gulls. He was unable to sign with Plymouth, who were under

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

at the time. in addition, Argyle manager

Peter Reid Peter Reid (born 20 June 1956) is an English football manager, pundit and former player. A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career. He built his reputation as one of England's brightest midfield tale ...

described Hall's performance during trials as "smashing", with no firm deal in place, Hall returned home to Bermuda after the two-week trial with the possibility of returning to Argyle later in the year. In 2011, he played with St. George's Colts in the

Bermudian Premier Division The Bermudian Premier Division (officially the Digicel Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) is the highest level of professional Association football, football in Bermuda. Clubs compete for the national title and a spot in the CONCACAF C ...

. On 7 July 2011, Hall signed a one-year deal with English League Two side

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

. Hall made his Northampton Town debut in an away game against

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

on 7 January 2012 after new signing

Shane Higgs Shane Peter Higgs (born 13 May 1977) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He made 306 appearances in the Football League and Football Conference between 1996 and 2012, most notably spending ten years at Chelte ...

suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in training after having only played a few games for Northampton himself. Afterwards, he went on trial with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

. On 21 July 2012, during his three-week trial with Toronto FC, Hall debuted against

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in a friendly that ended in a 1–1 draw. Hall signed a contract with Toronto FC on 31 July 2012. Hall made his league debut on 22 August, in a 2–1 away defeat to

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

. In a

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

match against Mexican club

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...

on 28 August, Hall made a notable save while a black cat sprinted across the field behind him. Hall was released by Toronto in December 2012. After returning to Bermuda, he went back to the United Kingdom in September 2013 to pursue a new contract. In March 2014, he signed a short-term contract with League Two side

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club moved its home g ...

, but did not make any appearances. On 7 August 2014, Hall returned to England, joining

Conference Premier The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...

side

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

following a successful pre-season trial period. He departed the club on 27 August after making four appearances for the club as a non-contract player (playing for free), but a lack of finances meant they could not retain Hall's services permanently. Afterwards, he joined Oxford City, making his first and only appearance on 4 October against

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay () is a town, Community (Wales), community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic counties of Wales, historic county boundaries of Denbighshire (h ...

. On 8 October 2014, he signed for Conference Premier club

AFC Telford United AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United F.C., founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. They are currently members of the and play at ...

. Hall made his debut in a 3–1 away win against

Woking F.C. Woking Football Club is a professional association football club, based in Woking, Surrey, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, they joined the Isthmian League ...

on 20 October. He left the club after the season after the club was relegated having made 23 total appearances for the club (21 in league play). In July 2015, Hall went on trial with

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Men's Premier Division (), also known as the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Republic of Ireland and the highest level of the Republic of I ...

side

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

, signing with them later that month. He made his debut against Derry City on 17 July 2015, it ended in a 0–0 draw. He was named Limerick FC Official Supporters’ Club Player of the Month for September. In November 2015, he extended his contract for another two seasons. On 28 August 2016, Hall won the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

title with Limerick with six games to spare with a 3–2 win against UCD. He was named to the 2016 PFAI First Division Team of the Year. Hall left the club by mutual consent in February 2018 to return to his native Bermuda. He later returned to play with St. George's Colts, serving as team captain and a coach. He was named the top goalkeeper of the Bermudian First Division during the 2019–20 season, helping the Colts earn promotion to the

International career

Hall represented the Bermuda national team at U17, U21 and senior level. Hall made his full debut against

on 2 September 2011.

Personal life

On 24 April 2022, Hall was killed in a car crash in Bermuda.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Freddy 1985 births 2022 deaths People from St. George's Parish, Bermuda Bermudian men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Bermuda men's international footballers USL League Two players English Football League players Major League Soccer players League of Ireland players South Florida Bulls men's soccer players Quinnipiac Bobcats men's soccer players Bermuda Hogges F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Toronto FC players Burton Albion F.C. players Chester F.C. players Oxford City F.C. players AFC Telford United players Limerick F.C. players Bermudian expatriate men's footballers Bermudian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Bermudian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Bermudian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Bermudian expatriate sportspeople in Ireland Expatriate men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Road incident deaths in Bermuda 21st-century British sportsmen