Ole Miss’ first All-American living the quiet life

This is the third in a 10-part weekly series highlighting notable sports figures and events in Vicksburg history.

[7/6/03]He was great, and then he was gone.

The honors college All-American and NFL Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player, among others didn’t just fade into the background, they vanished.

The man who would’ve, could’ve, should’ve been a superstar dropped his uniform and cleats and let it all fade away.

A little time on the treadmill, a little more lifting weights at the YMCA. It’s a routine, every weekday afternoon, for 87-year-old Parker Hall.

He’s not the athlete he was 60 years ago, of course, he hasn’t been since the day he walked away.

His whole life running, passing, punting then a quick change into business atire and walking, just walking past one sunset and into a new day.

It was 1991 before Hall’s children realized who their father really was.

The National Football Foundation inducted him into its Hall of Fame, bringing the family to New York for the ceremony.

“Growing up it was just Daddy,” said Tully Hall, Parker’s son. “He never talked about it.”

He didn’t talk about football, the sport he excelled in for the first part of his life.

He didn’t press his boys Parker Jr., Tully, Peter and Chris to follow in his footsteps. None of the boys played football or were ever too interested in it.

That kid from Tunica liked football.

He played all the time, starring for the high school.

Parker Hall hoped for a scholarship to Alabama. He knew for sure he was good enough to play in college.

“It was a little country town,” Hall said, “and I was as good as anybody in a 150-mile radius.”

He looked at going to Mississippi State or Tulsa, but chose to accept a scholarship from Ole Miss instead.

The Rebels heard about Hall through a professor whose son lived down the street from Hall.

So Hall moved east to Oxford in 1935, just hoping to catch on with the football team and get a college degree.

Freshmen couldn’t play varsity, so Hall joined the freshmen team but had an unremarkable year.

His sophomore season wasn’t much better, but Hall did start two games. The team as a whole had a poor season, and Hall’s junior year saw little improvement.

The offseason after Hall’s third year the school hired a new coach, Harry Mehre, who installed a new offense, the Notre Dame Box.

The season-opening game against LSU in 1938 set the stage for Ole Miss’ season and Hall’s senior year.

The Rebels won 20-7, and Hall had a 65-yard punt return to set up a touchdown. It was the Rebels’ first win over LSU in 10 seasons.

Ole Miss finished the season with a 9-2 record, including a loss in the SEC championship to Tennessee.

Hall flourished in the new offense, leading the nation in scoring with 73 points, punt and kickoff return yards, yards per carry, all-purpose rushing and interception return yards. He also finished among the top 10 in interceptions and total offense.

He was also among the national leaders in pass completions a statistic that was just becoming en vogue in the football world. Hall, with his large hands, found success throwing the ball downfield, a precursor of things to come.

“The thing that made him so great was his versatility,” said Kayo Dottley, an All-American fullback at Ole Miss in the 1940s and 50s. “He punted, passed and ran and did all three very well.

“His quickness was unusual for that time.”

After the 1938 season ended, the Cleveland Rams of the original National Football League drafted Hall in the first round.

Before his first pro season started, he played in a college All-Star game in Chicago. A grainy, black-and-white picture of all the players on that team hangs in his house today.

It’s one of the few football mementos on display.