An interview with Darrell Hall
Darrell Hall
Who are you playing with in 2012?
Playing local with some of the old guys once a month. I believe we will be EMR again.
Why do you like the game of softball?
Love the competitive side and friends
Who was the best player in the 1970's that you remember?
Leo Osterday – Butch Hayes – Tom taylor
Who was the best player in the 1980's that you remember?
Mike Kinnett – Pat Shanks – Mike Sullivan – Mike Smith
Who was the best player in the 1990's that you remember?
John Steele – Mike Boland – Bob Noeth – Spike Baker – Brian Wegman – Shane Hatfield
Where do you call home?
Cincinnati
What do you do for a living?
Sales
Did you play sports in High School / College / Pro?
High School only and not much too political
How did you get your start in softball and how did you get to the upper level?
Got my start with Ludlow Wines with Bill Miller (RIP) and was noticed because of speed by a young Jim Arnold wanting to build a championship team.
What position do you play?
Started as a Center Fielder and move to right at the age of 40
What batting grip do you use?
normal grip – nothing special
What is the best hitting tip you could give to an up and coming player?
Hitting Tip – Have more than one stance at the plate. Make sure you can hit all fields. Stay humble – always play hard
Was softball better in the aluminum or composite era?
Alumimum – true hitter
What is your favorite sports team?
Bengals – not the owner!
What is your favorite sport other than softball?
Football – Golf
What was your favorite softball complex to play at?
Main field Disney
Do you have any superstitions and if so, what are they?
Socks – if im playing well i dont change socks
What are your most memorable softball moments?
Moments – there's a bunch – Winning worlds in Illinois. All major Metros. First world in Georgia 40 an over (11 games in 105 heat!)
What is the best improvement upper level softball could make?
The only change I would make is rating players across the country. If your an A player here your a B or C player in other parts. I know their trying but I remember losing a world to a team out of California that had 4 major players the year before and they were playing B the following year.
What is/was your favorite non-World tournament?
Non World Toury – The old Springfield Strohs tournament – thousands of people!
What is the funniest thing you have ever seen on a softball field?
Funniest – Don Holden sliding into third but ended up 5 feet short 🙂 Sorry Don
What is the best prank you have ever witnessed during your Major softball playing days?
Back in the day with the Backstop we had travel bags you could fit a small car into. We had Tom Atha hide in one of the bags to scare poeple when they went to open it.
Darrell played for some great teams. The one I remember the most was EMR out of Cincinnati. Darrell locked down center field and the lead off spot for that team which would have been a great Conference team in today's game.
Note, I will add pictures as I find them in the softball history archives.
Leave a Reply