Vondal Lee Hall

Vondal Lee Hall

Vondal Lee Hall grew up at Melvin in Floyd County, Kentucky.  He was such a good pitcher on the Wheelright Trojans baseball team that his high school record was 21-1.  That one loss came in the state baseball tournament his senior season.  Newport Catholic defeated Wheelwright 4-1 in the first round of the State Tournament in 1953.

Hall was selected All-District two times, All-Regional one time and All-State for his pitching prowess.  As a senior at Wheelwright he was selected as the best baseball player in the commonwealth of Kentucky.

Hall played in the Industrial League in Detroit, Michigan, as well as American Legion baseball.

After high school Hall received a scholarship to play baseball at Georgia Teachers College.  That name was later changed to Georgia Southern.  He was at Georgia Southern at the same time as fellow Wheelwright alum Don Wallen, and the two were friends.

As a sophomore at Georgia Southern the right hander’s record was 4-1 with an ERA of 3.03.

He was also an outstanding hitter.

After graduation from college in 1956, Hall, like his friend Wallen, went into coaching.  Unlike Wallen, Hall decided to stay in Georgia.  Vondal Hall was named Georgia Baseball Coach of the Year in 1967.  He was later National High School Coach of the Year.

Hall also dabbled in golf.  He loved teaching kids the many fine aspects of sports.  The boys from Wheelwright all learned that sport on their local course, situated in a hollow in the coal town.  Hall was a golf coach for the McDuffie County Recreation Department for many years, as part of the Youth Golf Program.  He was also an advocate for handicapped children and began the Kicklighter Rehabilitation Center in Savannah, GA.

Vondal Lee Hall passed away in 2008.