Obituary: Dick Hall (1930-2023)

RIP to Dick Hall, one of the few players who ever made a successful transition from a position player to a pitcher. His 19-year career began as an outfielder and ended as a reliever, with a couple of World Series championships in the middle. Hall died on June 18 from multiple myeloma and congestive heart failure in hospice case. He was 92 years old. Hall played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1952-57, 1959), Kansas City Athletics (1960), Baltimore Orioles (1961-66, 1969-71) and Philadelphia Phillies (1967-68).

Richard Wallace Hall was born in St. Louis on September 27, 1930. However, he grew up in Haworth, N.J. According to his family-placed obituary, Hall’s father David was an engineer who worked on bridges and later became an aerospace engineer. Hall attended Mt. Harmon High School, a boarding school in Gill, Mass., and was a top-tier pitcher. He then attended Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and played practically every sport the school offered. Hall was named to the Associated Press All-Eastern football team in December of 1948 as a receiver., and the 6’6″ athlete was also a center on the basketball team. As a baseball player, Hall once struck out 22 Marines in an exhibition game, as Swarthmore rolled to an 18-4 win. He was a good hitter and remained in the lineup as a position player on days when he wasn’t pitching. Hall also was a track and field athlete and took to soccer in his sophomore year when he stopped playing football due to the injury risks. He won 10 letters in Swarthmore with all his athletic success.

By 1951, Hall was being compared favorably to Swarthmore alum George Earnshaw, who had a number of good seasons in the majors. All 16 major-league clubs had spoken with the college star, though Hall’s message to them was the same. “I won’t do anything about signing with anybody until after I’m graduated next year,” he said in May of 1951. “I’m going to stick with college sports for another year. If I should change my mind, I’ve promised to let all 16 clubs know it!”

Hall hit .482 in 1951 and was named to the NCAA District Two All-Star second team as a left fielder. In the spring of 1952, Hall visited a few major-league teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was intent on returning to Swarthmore for his final semester, Hall later related, but someone said to him, “Hey, why don’t you stick around? You can probably be in our Opening Day lineup.” “Darned if that wasn’t what happened,” Hall recalled.

Since the Pirates were abysmal at the time, General Manager Branch Rickey was trying to use a youth movement to improve the team. Hall, with a minimum of experience, went straight to the majors… as a third baseman. The rookie had been an outfielder in college and played first base for Pittsburgh in training camp, so the transition to third base was swift and unexpected. He booted a ground ball in a pre-season exhibition game against the Senators in Forbes Field, and the Pirates fans responded with a chorus of boos. Hall spent the first five games of Pittsburgh’s season playing there, and he didn’t commit an error in 42 innings — though some generous decisions by the official scorer might have helped. Nobody who saw those games pegged Hall as a natural third baseman. He singled in each of his first three major-league games, with the first hit coming against St. Louis pitcher Gerry Staley on April 15. But Hall struggled with nerves and failed to hit his weight, so he was demoted to the minors in May. He returned in September, played a bit more regularly as an outfielder and ended the season with a .138 batting average in 26 games. Hall never played a single inning at third base for the rest of his professional career.

For as much as Rickey is lauded as a baseball genius, he was not immune to boneheaded moves. Trying to bring a college ballplayer straight to the majors — and playing him at an unfamiliar position — was a disaster waiting to happen. Manager Bill Meyer warned Hall to not let the boo birds get to him, but it was inevitable. “I guess I was just a college kid looking for encouragement from the fans, not abuse,” Hall said in 1953.

For the next several years, Hall moved between the Pirates and various minor-league affiliates with regularity. Hall regained his confidence but still had to adjust to pro ball. He played in just 7 games for Pittsburgh in 1953 and spent all of 1954 with the Bucs, playing all three outfield positions as well as some infield. Rickey called him the next Tris Speaker, as far as his ability to get a jump on a fly ball. But Hall was stuck fighting for playing time in the outfield with Jerry Lynch, Frank Thomas and Sid Gordon, and he batted .239 with 2 home runs in 112 games. In 1955, Hall was sent all the way back to Class-A Lincoln, and the decision was made to try Hall as a pitcher. He won 12 games in 18 starts with a 2.24 ERA, throwing 16 complete games in the process. Pittsburgh brought the new pitcher to the majors and gave him a start against the Chicago Cubs on July 25, 1955. Not only did Hall pick up the 12-5 win, but he also struck out 11 batters in the game, which was one away from a team record. “I didn’t know I was anywhere near the record until someone told me after the game. I just kept firing away,” Hall said. “It gave me a good feeling to win that game. And I hope I can win lots more.”

That win set Hall’s career in a new direction. After a couple of innings in center field on August 3, Hall’s time as a position player was essentially over, and his second career as a pitcher was underway. He spent the rest of the year in the Pittsburgh starting rotation and had a 6-6 record and a 3.91 ERA in 15 games. He completed 4 of his 13 starts and saved another game, and he also fanned 46 batters in 94-1/3 innings. He had a decent fastball, but he depended on a variety of offspeed pitches to baffle hitters. His pitching style may have been a little unrefined, and he used a sidearm, herky-jerky motion that eventually earned him the nickname of “Turkey.” Or as one writer put it, “He winds up like a guy trying to pull a cork out of a champagne bottle and then throwing the corkscrew and the bottle at you in disgust.”

The rest of Hall’s time as a Pirate wasn’t as successful. He injured his arm while pitching in Mexico during the winter and was limited to just 19 games (9 starts) in 1956. He didn’t win a single game and lost 7, and his ERA soared to 4.76. He was more successful as a pinch-hitter, as he batted .345. Hall was even worse in 1957. He made 10 relief appearances, allowed 12 runs in 10 innings and was released to Triple-A Columbus in mid-June. “This boy is one of the top two disappointments of my 50 years in baseball. A sore arm cost him the chance to be one of the greatest pitchers of all time,” a saddened Rickey told Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sports editor Al Abrams.

Hall was out of baseball for all of 1958, thanks to continuing arm problems as well as a bout with hepatitis. He joined the Salt Lake City Bees of the Pacific Coast League for 1959, in what may have been his last chance in pro ball. Hall was absolutely brilliant — an 18-5 record, 1.87 ERA, 19 complete games and 6 shutouts. He was named the PCL’s Most Valuable Player and earned another chance with the Pirates that September. In his start against Cincinnati on September 19, he didn’t allow an earned run in 8 innings. After a week off, Hall again faced the Reds in a relief role and gave up 3 runs, including a solo homer to Buddy Gilbert. He was left with a 3.12 ERA with the Pirates. That December, Pittsburgh traded Hall and shortstop Ken Hamlin to the Kansas City Athletics for catcher Hal Smith. The Pirates stressed that the team was not giving up on Hall. They just really wanted Smith, and Hall was the asking price. The trade paid massive dividends for Pittsburgh, as Smith hit a key home run in the 1960 World Series.

Hall spent a year as a starting pitcher for the A’s. Freed from all the expectations that Pittsburgh had for him, he was a perfectly suitable starter on a 96-loss team. He had an 8-13 record and 4.05 ERA, and his ERA+ was a nearly average 99. Hall and Dick Williams were traded to Baltimore for outfielder Chuck Essegian and pitcher Jerry Walker on April 12, 1961. Baltimore soon became the team to figure out just how to use Hall properly.

Hall had some good performances as a starter for Baltimore in 1961, including a couple of shutouts against the Washington Senators. In 13 games a starting pitcher, he was 5-4 with a 4.16 ERA. But in 16 games as a reliever, Hall had a 1.06 ERA in 42-1/3 innings. He struck out nearly a batter an inning when he came out of the bullpen. Hall still made a handful of starts for Baltimore in 1962, but he spent the rest of his career as a reliever — becoming one of the best relievers in the American League in the process.

Hall had his first truly great season as a reliever in 1962, when he was 31 years old. In 43 games (which included 6 starts), he went 6-6 with 6 saves and a 2.28 ERA. His 118-1/3 innings pitched were the most of any Orioles reliever. The team finished with a 77-85 record, because the starting pitchers who would lead the team to greatness and multiple World Series titles weren’t there yet. But Hall at least brought some stability to the bullpen. He also provided some endurance. Five of his 6 saves required 2 or more innings of work. The Senators-Orioles game on September 12, 1962, is best known for Washington’s Tom Cheney pitching 16 innings and striking out 21 batters. However, Hall pitched the final 8-1/3 innings for the Orioles and allowed just 5 hits — but one of them was the go-ahead home run by Bud Zipfel that gave the Sens the 2-1 win.

The role of the closer wasn’t as well-defined as it is today, but Hall saved 12 games in both 1963 and 1965. Stu Miller was the Orioles closer in that period, but Hall was consistently one of the Orioles’ busiest relievers. He also entered games in clutch situations, and he won more than 10 games three times in his career. One of his best seasons came in 1964, when he had a 1.85 ERA and recorded 9 wins and 9 saves. Over the final two months of the season, he pitched 32-2/3 innings and gave up a grand total of 1 run. Opposing batters slashed .185/.226/.312 against him. Not only did Hall give up just 58 hits in 87-2/3 innings, but he walked 16 batters — and 5 of them were intentionally. The career of a relief pitcher has its ups and downs, but Hall’s control remained impeccable throughout his career.

By 1966, the dominant Otioles pitching staff was coming together with the emergence of Dave McNally and Jim Palmer, along with strong seasons from Wally Bunker and Steve Barber. Baltimore won 97 games and swept Los Angeles in the World Series. Hall had a slightly off year, with a high 3.95 ERA, but he contributed 6 wins and 7 saves to the team’s season. He didn’t pitch in the World Series — Baltimore needed just 4 pitchers — but he was a world champ. Hall also made his contributions to Baltimore’s long-term success by befriending Palmer. “He was kind of a mentor to me,” Palmer said in the online obituary. “I got to sit with him and learn baseball. He drove me to the ballpark, taught me about baseball and life. You never forget those type of people.”

Hall was traded in December of 1966 to the Philadelphia Phillies for a player to be named later. His first season with the team was magnificent, as he won 10 games and saved 9 more in 48 appearances for the 1967 Phillies. His 2.20 ERA was second-best on the team after closer Turk Farrell’s 2.05 mark. Hall was uncharacteristically bad in 1968, with a 4.89 ERA in just 46 innings pitched. He continued to battle elbow and arm problems, thanks to his odd pitching motion, but they hadn’t cut into his effectiveness until that year. The Phillies released him after the season, and at 38 years old, it could have meant the end of Hall’s career. Instead, he re-signed with Baltimore and pitched on three pennant-winning ballclubs.

Hall didn’t allow a single run in spring training of 1969, and he made the team, much to the surprise of manager Earl Weaver and the rest of the team. The effects of a long pitching career meant that Hall couldn’t pitch quite as much as he once could, but he was dependable when Weaver needed him. He was 5-2 with 6 saves in 39 games in 1969. His ERA was 1.92, and his WHIP was 0.883. He picked up a win in the first-ever AL Championship Series Game, against Minnesota. He came into the game in relief of Marcelino Lopez with 1 out in the top of the 12th inning — but with the bases loaded. Hall struck out Leo Cardenas and got John Roseboro to fly out to end the inning, and he won the game when Paul Blair drove in the winning run in the bottom of the twelfth with an RBI bunt single off Ron Perranoski. Unfortunately, Hall was the losing pitcher in Game Four of the World Series against the New York Mets. Jerry Grote hit a pop fly that landed in no-man’s land for a leadoff double. Hall intentionally walked Al Weis, and when J.C. Martin laid down a sacrifice bunt, the pitcher threw wildly to first base, letting the winning run score in a 2-1 loss. The “Miracle Mets” went on to win the Series.

Hall won a second championship ring with Baltimore in 1970. He won 10 games with a 3.08 ERA during the season and saved some of his finest work for the postseason. He again beat the Twins in the ALCS, throwing 4-2/3 innings of scoreless relief in a 10-6 Game One win. Hall only made one appearance in the World Series against Cincinnati. The Orioles were leading 6-5 in the bottom of the seventh inning. Hall came into the game with two runners on base and ended the threat by getting Tony Perez to hit a grounder to third baseman Brooks Robinson, for a force out. Hall retired the next six batters in a row to pick up the save. His final season in 1971 wasn’t very good, as the 41-year-old had a 4.98 ERA in 27 games. His final pitching appearance came in Game Two of the World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Orioles won that game 11-3, and Hall took over for Palmer in the ninth inning after Palmer had thrown 168 pitches. “He was starting to get tired, and he had a twinge of pain in his elbow. We may need to use him again,” Weaver said of the decision to remove Palmer. Hall allowed a leadoff single to Al Oliver but retired the next 3 batters. He was credited with a save, but obviously that would not count with today’s save rules. The Pirates won the World Series in seven games.

Hall pitched in 16 of his 19 major-league seasons and had a 93-75 record, with 71 saves. He had a 3.32 ERA and a 1.102 WHIP. He appeared in a total of 495 games on the mound, 74 of which were starts. He threw 20 complete games and 3 shutouts. He struck out 741 batters and walked 236 in 1,259-2/3 innings. Of those walks, 70 were intentional, so Hall really issued 166 bases on balls in competitive at-bats — of 1.2 per 9 innings throughout his career. As a hitter, Hall had 150 hits for a .210/.271/.259 slash line. Those hits included 15 doubles, 4 triples and 4 home runs.

During his career, Hall studied accounting at the University of Utah and spent his offseasons as an accountant. He continued the job after his retirement from baseball. Cleveland made a strong pitch to hire Hall as a pitching coach for 1972, but he elected to stay at home. Hall thought about trying to pitch again, but he told Baltimore’s Evening Sun, “It’s always nice to retire gracefully instead of being kicked out. I’ll never let it come to that.” Hall did coach his son’s Little League team, and he became a pretty good tennis player and golfer — when his elbow wasn’t hurting. He didn’t retire from accounting until 2001.

Back when he was playing for Pittsburgh, Hall played in winter ball in Mazatlan, Mexico. That was where he met his wife, Elena. They married on December 31, 1955, and were together until his death. Hall is also survived by children David, Helen, Norma and Martha, and their families.

For more information: Ruck Towson Funeral Home

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