Hugh Gall (c. 1888 – May 19, 1938) was a

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

player considered to be one of the best runners and punters of his era. After playing half-back in Toronto for Parkdale Collegiate, Gall joined the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

varsity team in 1907 and played there for four seasons. He led the team to

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

victories in 1909 and 1910, becoming the first team to win the new trophy presented to the Canadian Rugby Union champions. Gall set a record for most

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

(single point kicks, also known as ''rouges'') in a Grey Cup game with eight in 1909, a record that still stands (though somewhat

asterisk The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

ed, because he accomplished the feat before

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on the opposite side of the field ...

s were invented and as such as soon as the ball crossed the goal line it was dead and could not be returned). He was team captain for the 1910 season. Gall also played in the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1890, the OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern ...

for the Parkdale Canoe Club hockey team. In addition, he competed in several track meets in the Toronto area. Gall was elected vice-commodore of the Parkdale Canoe Club in 1911 and then became a football referee. He returned to action in 1913, playing for the Parkdale team that lost in the Grey Cup final. Gall coached U of T to the intercollegiate championship in 1914 and graduated in 1915 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He became secretary of the Canadian Rugby Union (now

Football Canada Football Canada is the governing body for gridiron football in Canada headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. Football Canada focuses primarily its own Canadian form of the sport, and is currently the world's only national governing body for Canadia ...

) in 1914, and served a one-year term as president of the organization in 1920-1921. He died in Toronto at age 49 from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. Gall was inducted into the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

in 1963,

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada, it serves as a hall of fame and mu ...

in 1975, and the U of T Sports Hall of Fame in 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gall, Hugh 1938 deaths Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees University of Toronto alumni Toronto Varsity Blues football players Players of Canadian football from Ontario Year of birth missing