Jeff Hall

Born Scunthorpe; September 7, 1929. Died 1959.

To the majority of modern day football fans Jeff Hall is probably an unknown name. Any Birmingham City fan worth their salt will be aware of the name, however. Hall formed part of the clubs’ greatest ever defence and was a regular England international for two years in the 1950’s. Despite his untimely death while still at the peak of his game Hall had already made an indelible mark on the clubs’ history.

In a wider sense Hall was one of the pioneers of modern full back play and was an integral player as England recovered from the most humbling experience in their footballing history.

Although Hall was born in Scunthorpe he grew up in the Bradford area and was always an outstanding footballer, playing centre forward for his school. He would join Bradford Park Avenue as an amateur playing on the wing while serving his apprenticeship as a textile engineer but any thoughts of embarking on a professional career had to be put on hold as he was obliged to do his National Service.

This period did not entirely hinder his footballing prospects, however. In fact for talented youngsters like Hall this environment actually brought him to the attention of several clubs and from the beginning it was Birmingham City taking the keenest interest. By now Hall had gravitated back to the right half position and the move suited his talents. He had good positional sense and a nose for danger which made him an excellent shield for the defence behind him. He was also highly energetic and extremely quick.

When he had served his time in May 1950 Hall had more reason than most to be demob happy, Birmingham City signed him on professional terms the day after.

Having joined the Blues it was not long before the right half was dropped even deeper and the club began grooming him for the full back position. In every respect bar one Hall looked a natural for the position. At 5’7” he was not the biggest and there were obvious worries about whether he would be able to cope with the physical side of the game which, in the 1950’s, could verge on outright violence.

The club did not rush the newcomer who developed his game in the reserves during his first couple of years at St Andrews while having intermittent spells in the first team.

He made his debut in a second division game at home to Bury in January 1951 and did not make the most auspicious of starts, giving away a penalty for handball in a 3-3 draw. It would not be until the 1952-53 season that Hall really established himself as a regular, however.

Even before the promising defender had cemented his place in the Birmingham first team the signs were there that the club was on the verge of an exciting period. In Hall’s debut season the club had knocked both Manchester clubs out of the FA Cup on their way to the semi finals where they lost narrowly to Blackpool in a replay and the following season they had missed out on promotion to the first division on goal average only to Cardiff City.

Hall arrived in the team just in time to enjoy the clubs’ best ever spell.

During his first season as a regular in the first team Birmingham finished 6th in Division Two as well as making it through to the 5th round of the FA Cup where they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in a second replay. The following season saw the club eventually finish 7th in the league although they had been serious promotion contenders until early April before taking only two points from their last five games to fall away.

The FA Cup had brought another outstanding performance in a 2-1 win at Wolves, on their way to the League Championship, but that had been followed by a disappointing defeat at Ipswich Town, on their way to the Division Three South title.

On a personal note this season also saw Hall score his one and only goal for the Blues. Pressed into service as an emergency outside right due to injuries suffered during a game at Stoke City Hall found the net in a 3-2 defeat.

These were frustrating but hopeful times at St Andrews. Although the club had been stuck in the second division for four years it was clear that there was the basis of a fine side and, in particular, that a formidable defence was being forged.

The alert, speedy Hall complemented the solid, experienced Ken Green at full back and behind them was the slightly erratic but often brilliant England goalkeeper Gilbert Merrick. Coming through the ranks and establishing himself at centre half was Trevor Smith, an England international of the future. Together this unit would see Birmingham through the brightest period of its’ history and, with a couple of aggressive wing halves ahead of them, would make the Birmingham defence one of the most respected in the country.

1954-55 began poorly but would be the season in which Birmingham finally escaped the clutches of the second division. Lying only 12th in the table by late November the catalyst was two emphatic wins on the bounce at St Andrews. Firstly Port Vale were hammered 7-2 before they inflicted on Liverpool their biggest ever defeat, a 9-1 thrashing.

These victories proved vital not only in signalling an upturn in form. The promotion race developed into an incredibly tight affair and come the end of the season three teams ended up locked on the same number of points. Birmingham took the title on goal average, thumping Doncaster Rovers 5-1 away from home in their final game, ahead of Luton Town and Rotherham United who missed out on promotion by the narrowest of margins in the days of two up, two down.

Just one point further back were Leeds United after a breathless promotion battle.

City had also made it through to the 6th round of the cup before losing by the only goal at home to Manchester City and looked well equipped to cope back in the first division.

The impressive Hall looked better equipped than most to make the step up. His game had developed rapidly and he was already well regarded within the game before making his first division debut and considered a genuine England prospect.

Two years earlier England had received the rudest of awakenings at Wembley when thrashed 6-3 by the Hungarians. All notions of footballing supremacy had been smashed overnight. On a night when everything about English football was made to look archaic the performances of the two full backs, Alf Ramsey and Bill Eckersley, had come in for particular scrutiny.

Both these men had been solid, reliable servants of England but in a team being overrun they had suffered torture at the hands of the flying Hungarian wingers Budai and Czibor. Immediately the selectors looked for a full back pairing in a different mould, players who were younger and faster.

They had little difficulty in finding one to take over at left back. Manchester United’s Roger Byrne fitted the bill perfectly; young, fast, sharp in the tackle and comfortable moving forward to start attacks. He came into the side and stayed.

The right hand side proved more problematic, however. While Hall was establishing himself in the second division with Birmingham nobody in Division One demanded inclusion. Ron Staniforth, Bill Foulkes, Jimmy Meadows and Peter Sillett were all tried in turn over the next two years without making the position their own.

By the time Birmingham were winning promotion to the first division the England selectors were already eyeing Hall as the next man to be tried in the problem position and his confident entry onto the big stage quickly convinced them to give him his chance. Having made a couple of appearances for the “B” team Hall was handed his full England debut in the friendly in Denmark in October 1955.

Although England won this game 5-1 with a somewhat experimental line up the performance was not considered an overwhelming success. Hall, whose cross led to one of the goals, had done enough to retain his place for the next game and although this brought a defeat in Wales he would stay in the side for the next two years without missing a game.

Of his 17 appearances for England this early defeat in Cardiff was the only one the team would suffer with Hall in the side and, as a fine side developed, there would be several memorable victories, notably a 4-2 win over Brazil at Wembley, in which Hall helped Stanley Matthews destroy the left hand side of the Brazilian defence, and a 3-1 defeat of the world champions West Germany in Berlin.

During this time Hall and Byrne really set down the blueprint for the modern full back. Both were fast, mobile defenders who, if beaten, had great powers of recovery and who were able to cover behind their centre half as well if necessary. They were also both converted wingers who were happy to get forward to start and support attacks.

Whereas full backs previously had been almost exclusively defensive players who looked after their opposing wingers Hall and Byrne wanted to get involved in other aspects of the game and trusted their speed and ability to allow them to do so. It was not unusual to see the sturdy little figure of Hall flying forward down the wing one minute then swooping back to clear danger in his own goalmouth the next. Suddenly playing full back was made to look exciting.

Looking at the full backs who came after them the influence of this pair can be readily seen and it is fair to say that they were important men in moving English football forward into the modern era.

Birmingham made a solid start to life back in the first division and once again they enjoyed a fine run in the FA Cup. Having hammered Torquay United and Leyton Orient in rounds three and four the Blues enjoyed a memorable 1-0 win at local rivals and cup holders West Bromwich Albion in the 5th. They then went to Arsenal and won 3-1 in the quarter finals before soundly beating Sunderland 3-0 in their Hillsborough semi final.

This set up a final meeting with Manchester City and despite the fact that Birmingham were fresh out of the second division they were made strong favourites to lift the club. This was partly because of their outstanding performances in reaching Wembley and partly because of their strong defensive unit which had impressed observers everywhere during the season.

It was widely expected that Hall, Smith and Green would be able to keep the City forward line in check and with Gil Merrick waiting behind them there would be little joy for the men from Maine Road.

Things did not turn out that way, however. Hall gave a solid enough display in marking Roy Clarke but elsewhere the Birmingham defence simply could not get to grips with Don Revie, City’s roving centre forward, who dominated proceedings and inspired his team to a 3-1 victory.

The following year it was Manchester’s other team, United, who ended Birmingham’s cup ambitions at the semi final stage and denied them a final meeting with neighbours Aston Villa.

Hall had also been tasting European football during this period as Birmingham became the pioneers of English football in competitive European action. The Fairs Cup, the forerunner of the UEFA Cup, was a strange competition. Only one team per city was allowed entry and the inaugural competition took place over a three year period.

Representing England were London and Birmingham and while London selected a hybrid team from among its’ many clubs Birmingham simply entered City. The famous Blues defence conceded only one goal as they topped a group also containing Inter Milan and Zagreb but they were then edged out in the semi finals by Barcelona, a tie which needed a third game before being settled.

Having played his part in one of the finest sequence of results England had ever produced it was somewhat harsh that Hall should now lose his place in the England side. The 1950’s were an unforgiving time for the England team, however. Despite the crushing defeats suffered earlier in the decade against Hungary the widespread notion persisted that England should simply outclass most international opposition.

In Hall’s international debut the team had received stiff criticism despite winning 5-1 in Denmark and in one of his last games for his country, another 5-1 victory at home to Eire in a World Cup qualifier, the performance had also been greeted less than enthusiastically.

The dependable right back now found his place under threat. Although he had erred to allow Scotland their goal in a 2-1 Wembley victory in April 1957 it was not so much what he was doing wrong that placed him under threat, it was simply the emergence of a couple of high class rivals.

Indeed it was hard to remember another mistake from Hall costing England a goal during his run in the side but in West Brom’s Don Howe and Blackpool’s Jimmy Armfield two players of genuine international class had emerged to challenge for his position.

Hall’s final England appearance came in a 1-1 draw in Dublin later in 1957 which clinched a place in the 1958 World Cup finals in Sweden. Hall had played in all four qualifiers but would not make the trip to Sweden.

Howe would prove himself a worthy successor and enjoy a fine World Cup before being quickly usurped by the brilliant Armfield. There was no shame for Hall in being succeeded by these two men.

The fact that the respected Birmingham defence was on the wane at this time did not help Hall’s England aspirations. The 1957-58 season brought some fearful hidings, losing 7-1 at Spurs and 8-0 at Preston while shipping five goals at home to both Wolves and West Brom. The club also fell to a rare FA Cup embarrassment, losing 3-0 at York City.

Few fingers were pointed at Hall, however, and it was felt that he was probably approaching his peak and a key man for the club as it looked to build a new side. Tragically he would not have the chance to fulfil this expectation.

The 1958-59 season saw an improvement in Birmingham’s league form and another FA Cup run which took them to the 5th round before a crushing 5-0 defeat to the eventual winners Nottingham Forest in a second replay.

Shortly after this game Hall played his part in a 1-1 draw away at Portsmouth then two weeks later he was dead, struck down with alarming suddenness by polio.

The shock of an international footballer being taken so quickly by this disease was felt throughout the country with a chilling effect. From being basically ignored millions of people were suddenly queuing up to be vaccinated against it.

Birmingham City had lost, almost overnight, one of its’ finest ever servants but had no option but to simply carry on. A scoreboard at St Andrews’ was named in Hall’s honour, which unfortunately fell victim to ground modernisation, and a memorial game was held in October 1959 against an All Star XI in his honour.

Today his memory is carried on by a cup in his name played for by local sides in the West Yorkshire area in which he grew up but he will always be remembered mostly on the blue half of Birmingham as one of the most important players in the clubs’ greatest ever side.

He should also be remembered by England supporters as one of the players who pointed the way to a new style of defensive play. Fast, brave, sharp in the tackle yet good on the ball and keen to get forward when possible Hall still fits the bill as the ideal full back.

Birmingham City 227 appearances, 1 goal

England 17 appearances.