Atlanta, GA
Former Alabama prep star, Atlanta Braves outfielder dead at age 67
The funeral service for former Atlanta Braves outfielder Albert Hall is scheduled for 11 a.m. CST Monday at New Mount Zion Baptist Church in Birmingham.
Hall died on Tuesday at age 67.
On Sept. 23, 1987, Hall became the first player to hit for the cycle in an Atlanta Braves uniform and the first for the franchise since Bill Collins did so for the Boston Braves on Oct. 6, 1910. Twenty-one years after Hall’s feat, Mark Kotsay became the second Atlanta player to hit for the cycle on Aug. 14, 2008.
In Atlanta’s 5-4 victory over the Houston Astros, Hall led off the bottom of the first with a single and the bottom of the fifth with a double off Jim Deshaies. In the sixth, Hall hit a solo home run off Deshaies to tie the score at 4-4. Hall started the bottom of the ninth with a triple off reliever Dave Smith and ended the game by scoring on a wild pitch.
A speedy outfielder who stole 455 bases in the minor leagues, Hall went from Jones Valley High School in Birmingham to professional baseball when Atlanta selected him in the sixth round of the 1977 draft.
After hitting .308 and stealing 60 bases for the Southern League’s Savannah Braves in 1981, Hall made his MLB debut on Sept. 12, 1981, as a pinch-runner for catcher Bruce Benedict in the 10th inning of Atlanta’s 5-4 victory over the San Diego Padres.
From 1981 through 1988, Hall played in 375 games for the Braves before completing his MLB career with 20 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1989.
Hall posted a career batting average of .251 with a .328 on-base average and .335 slugging percentage. He had 125 runs, 202 hits, 37 doubles, eight triples, five home runs, 53 RBIs and 67 stolen bases in the big leagues.
Hall’s best season game in 1987, when he hit .284 and stole 33 bases in 92 games for Atlanta.
Hall appeared in minor-league games each season from 1977 through 1989, except in 1984 and 1987, when he spent the campaigns completely with Atlanta.
In 946 minor-league games, Hall hit .282 with a .376 on-base average and .372 slugging percentage. In 1980, Hall stole 100 bases for the Carolina League’s Durham Bulls.
After Monday’s service, burial will be at Elmwood Cemetery and Mausoleum in Birmingham.