A five-time national Coach of the Year and one of the architects of scholastic lacrosse in the United States, Thomas W. Hall ’63 created and then guided the Fayetteville-Manlius High School boys lacrosse program to a 454-185-1 record during his 36-year tenure as head coach.
The Syracuse, N.Y., native graduated from Fayetteville-Manlius High School. He competed in both junior varsity and varsity lacrosse at SUNY Cortland, where he recalled “the high quality of teaching from the faculty - their professionalism as well as their true concern for the students. The Cortland experience helped me develop a standard of excellence with my students and athletes.”
Hall, who earned both his bachelor’s (1963) and master’s degrees (2005) in history from SUNY Cortland, played with the Syracuse Lacrosse Club from 1961-72.
In 1963, he joined the faculty at Fayetteville-Manlius High, where he also coached football for 29 years. He established a lacrosse team in 1964 and coached the sport there until his retirement in 1999.
The fourth all-time most victorious lacrosse coach in New York State, he is only one of seven in the U.S. with more than 400 career wins. His teams won six conference, four sectional and two Upstate championships and twice finished as state runner-up. Hall coached 350 Fayetteville-Manlius players who went on to play collegiate lacrosse, including 17 high school and 25 college All-Americans.
Elected the first president of the National Interscholastic Lacrosse Association, he served from 1978-88. He also served on the first National Federation of High School Boys’ Lacrosse Rules Committee from 1999-2002. He has been the New York State Lacrosse Chair since 1986 and the Section III Lacrosse Chair since 1976. He was president of the Central New York Lacrosse Association for 13 years and chair of the Onondaga High School League for 26 years.
A co-founder of the Upstate Summer Lacrosse League in 1964, Hall is a charter member of the Upstate New York Chapter of the Lacrosse Foundation and has chaired its annual banquet since 1998.
The first Empire State Games lacrosse chair from 1983-93, he coached the 1985 Central Team. He also coached the 1986 North Team in the North-South High School All-Star Game. More recently, he has coordinated the North Team and helped select coaches for the U.S. Lacrosse National High School Senior Showcase Games.
Within his community, he coordinated Fayetteville recreational basketball from 1965-81 and the Town of Manlius youth lacrosse since 1992. He has served on the Trinity Episcopal Church Building and Grounds Committee for 40 years.
A Greater Syracuse Hall of Fame and a U.S. Lacrosse Upstate New York Chapter Hall of Fame member, Hall has been named U.S. Lacrosse Coaches Association Coach of the Year five times and New York State Public High School Athletic Association’s Section III Man of the Year three times. He was the National Federation of Interscholastic Coaches Association Boys Lacrosse Coach of the Year in 2000 and received the national Gerald J. Carroll Exemplary Coaching Award in 1997. He has been honored by numerous groups for his contributions to the sport of lacrosse.
Hall and his wife, Sally Hoffmann Hall ’63, have four children: Christine, Stephanie, Geoffrey and Sarah.
UPDATE- March, 2015: Hall continues to be recognized for his accomplishments. In 2001, he was awarded the Section III of NYSPHSAA “Special Service Award”. In 2003, he was inducted into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame and in 2006 he was inducted in to the NYSPHSAA Hall of Fame. In February of 2009, he was awarded the Blind Men & Criers of CNY, “Edward J. Kearney” Memorial Award, “For Outstanding Accomplishments in the Field of Athletics”. In 2011, he was acknowledged with three awards consisting of the “Distinguished Service Award” from the New York State Athletic Administrators, the “Golden Whistle Award” from the Central New York Officials Association, and the National Interscholastic Lacrosse Coaches Association’s National “Man of the Year” award.
Hall has volunteered his service as the North Team coordinator for the National High School Senior Showcase Games from 2000 to 2010. He was the coaches’ coordinator for the US Lacrosse National Showcase Games from 2004 to 2010. He then went on to create and coordinate the 2009 New York Shootout as a replacement for the Empire State Games Lacrosse. In 2010, he created and coordinated the Upstate Rising Lacrosse tournament for elite lacrosse players selected from 9th and 10th grade from Sections 3, 4, 5, and 6.
UPDATES:
2016 - Inducted into the Fayetteville-Manlius H.S. initial Athletic Hall of Fame
2017 - The NYSPHSAA Class "D" State Championship plaque was named in honor and recognition of Tom Hall for his service to New York State high school lacrosse
2019 - Inducted into the initial National Interscholastic Lacrosse Coaches Assoc. Hall of Fame.
UPDATE: Hall passed away on Jan. 6, 2023, at age 82.
