Gordie Hall

Gordie Hall
Personal information
BornGordon Randall Hall
(1935-11-27) November 27, 1935
Long Beach, California, United States
Height185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight88 kg (194 lb)
Children3
Sport
SportWater polo
PositionCenter Forward (Jordan High)
Center Back (College)
Goalkeeper (60 Olympics)
College teamCompton College
University of California Berkeley
ClubLynwood Swim Club
Coached byEdward Holston (Compton)
Neal Kohlhase, Urho Saari (Olympics)
Medal record
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place1963 Sao PauloMen's tournament

Gordon "Gordie" Randall Hall (born November 27, 1935) is former American water polo player who competed for UC Berkeley and participated in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome where the U.S. team placed seventh. He later worked in aerospace engineering.[1]

Early life

Hall was born in Long Beach, California on November 27, 1935. He competed as a Center Forward in water polo for Long Beach Jordan High School from 1950-1953. Recognized in water polo in three successive years from 1950-1952, he made First Team honors in the All-Coast League, and was a 1951, and 1952 Most Valuable Player.[2][1][3]

College athletics

Hall studied first at Compton College where he competed on the swim and water polo teams under Head Coach Edward Holston from 1953-1955.[4] After transferring to UC Berkeley, Hall played Center Back on the water polo team from around 1954-1957. During college, in all three years from 1954-1956, he was a member of teams that won the Northern California League Championship, and was voted the Northern California League's Most Valuable Player in 1956.[3]

1960 Olympic trials

In July, 1960, Hall qualified for the Olympic team, while playing for the Lynwood Swim Club under Head Coach Neal Kolhase at the Los Angeles Swim Stadium. The Lynwood Club went undefeated in trail competitions, defeating the Los Angeles Swim Stadium team, and the El Segundo Swim Club teams. Team mate Ron Vollmer had attended Compton college with Gordie, and Olympic team mate Bob Horn would later coach water polo at UCLA and serve as a U.S. Olympic water polo coach.[5]

1960 Rome Olympics

Hall was a member of the American water polo team which finished seventh in the 1960 Olympic tournament. He played three matches as goalkeeper under Neal Kohlhase and Assistant Olympic Coach Urho Saari.[6] The team from Italy won the gold, Russia took the silver, and perennial favorite Hungary took the bronze.[1]

In non-Olympic international competition, Hall was a member of the U.S. National team that won a silver medal at the 1963 Pan American Games in São Paulo, Brazil.[1]

During the span of his water polo career competing in AAU competition from 1956-1964, he usually played goalkeeper, and competed on teams that won National championships in four successive years from 1960-1963.[3]

Life outside water polo

Hall later worked in Aerospace Engineering, and as a consulting aerospace engineer. After leaving his aerospace careers, he settled in Maui, Hawaii and sold real estate. He competed in outrigger canoes during his time in Hawaii, and trained in outrigger canoe competition with the United States Masters's organization.[1]

Hall of Fame

In 2000, Hall was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.[7][8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Olympedia Biography, Gordie Howe". Retrieved May 28, 2026.
  2. ↑ ""Jordan School's Block J's Raise Funds for CARE", The Peninsula Times Tribune, Palo Alto, California, December 25, 1957, pg. 13". Retrieved May 28, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "USA Water Polo Hall of Fame, Gordie Hall". Retrieved May 28, 2026.
  4. ↑ ""Tartar Poloists", Lynwood Press, Lynwood, California, July 21, 1960, pg. 5". Retrieved May 29, 2026.
  5. ↑ ""Water Polo Team Picked For Olympics", Alameda Times Star, Alameda, California, July 5, 1960, pg. 9". Retrieved May 29, 2026.
  6. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Gordie Hall Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  7. ↑ "Gordon Hall (2000)". usawaterpolo.org. USA Water Polo. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  8. ↑ "Hall of Fame Inductees". usawaterpolo.org. USA Water Polo. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
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