Players - Brian Hall

Brian Hall
Birthdate: 22 November 1946
Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland
Date of death: 16 July 2015
Other clubs: Plymouth Argyle (1976-77), Burnley (1977-80), Northwich Victoria (1980-85)
Signed from: Local
Signed for LFC: Amateur 1966 - Professional July 1968
Liverpool debut: 07.04.1969
Last appearance: 14.04.1976
Debut goal: 27.03.1971
Last goal: 15.11.1975
Contract expiry: July 1976
Win ratio: 52.23% W:117 D:64 L:43
Games/goals ratio: 10.67
Games/assists ratio: 13.18
Honours: League Championship 1972/73; FA Cup 1974; UEFA Cup 1973, 1976
Total games/goals opposite LFC: 1 / 0
League games / goals / assists: 155 / 15 / 10
Total games / goals / assists: 224 / 21 / 17

Player Profile

All Brian Hall wanted in his teens was to go to Liverpool, but not to play football. He wanted to study at the university! He studied mathematics and graduated three years later with a Bachelor of Science degree. Hall was an industrious player who always gave his all for Liverpool. Hall was small in stature, but clever and a very efficient footballer. He became a vital part of the team Shankly rebuilt in the early 70's. After three years of reserve football and studies Hall made two brief appearances as a substitute towards the end of the 1968/69 season. Ian Callaghan's injury in September 1970 gave Hall his breakthrough. Hall performed so well in Callaghan's absence on the right wing that when Callaghan returned, Shankly moved Cally into a central midfield role to accommodate them both.

Hall's most memorable moment came in the 1970/71 season when he scored the dramatic winning goal in the FA Cup semi-final against Everton at Old Trafford which took Liverpool to Wembley for the first time since 1965. It was also his first-ever goal for Liverpool. Hall had to settle for a runners-up medal on that occasion but was a member of the side who lifted the trophy three years later against Newcastle to add to the League Championship and UEFA Cup winners' medal he had from the previous season. Hall played a big part in the FA Cup fortunes of Liverpool in 1974. Again Liverpool were in the semi-final. Liverpool and Leicester City drew 0-0 at Old Trafford and the replay was set at Villa Park. Hall scored Liverpool’s first goal soon after the start of the interval. He had just finished celebrating when Glover equalized two minutes later. Kevin Keegan and John Toshack guaranteed a 3-1 victory and Newcastle were an easy prey in the final. 

Hall got on well with his first boss Bill Shankly most of the time but did get the hump when Liverpool had reached the final of the UEFA Cup in 1973 and faced German side Borussia Mönchengladbach in a two-legged affair, the first being at Anfield. The first match only lasted half and hour because the pitch became waterlogged after a torrential downpour, and the game was re-scheduled for the following night. In that half hour though, Shankly had spotted a weakness in the air in the German back line and for the rematch brought in the aerial supremacy of John Toshack at the expense of Hall's attacking midfield play. "My reaction was childish," Hall told LFChistory.net. "I just slammed about and wasn't really in the best frame of mind to be on the subs bench. Of course we won the match 3-0 and it was viewed as a master stroke by Shanks but I was still unhappy. It rumbled on to the end of the season where it finally came to a head when I was dropped against Leicester City. We only needed a draw for the title and Shanks decided to blood a young Phil Thompson at my expense. That incident hit me far harder than the UEFA Cup final one had done." 

Hall played in all but seven of the League matches in 1974/75 but his midfield position was taken over by Jimmy Case before the half-way stage of the following season. He moved on to Plymouth Argyle in the summer of 1976 before returning to the North-West and finishing his League career at Burnley. He later felt he had made a "big mistake" leaving Liverpool so soon and should have fought harder to reclaim his place. Hall took on teaching and was a schoolmaster for a while but Hall returned to Anfield in 1991 to head the club's Public Relations department, a post he was in until he had to retire in 2011 due to his battle with leukemia. A special presentation was made to Hall before Liverpool's Premier League match against Fulham at Anfield on 1 May 2012 to officially mark his retirement. Hall passed away on 16 July 2015.
Appearances per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 155 19 13 35 2 224
1968-1969 2 0 0 0 0 2
1969-1970 1 0 0 0 0 1
1970-1971 35 7 3 8 0 53
1971-1972 26 1 2 3 1 33
1972-1973 21 0 2 8 0 31
1973-1974 22 8 1 3 0 34
1974-1975 35 2 3 4 1 45
1975-1976 13 1 2 9 0 25
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps Minutes Opponent
12 1080 Tottenham
12 1010 Leeds United
9 840 Arsenal
9 810 Southampton
9 810 Newcastle United
9 768 Everton
9 734 Ipswich Town
9 696 Stoke City
9 606 Leicester City
8 720 Coventry City
8 644 Derby
8 562 Manchester City
7 630 West Ham United
7 630 Wolves
7 553 Burnley
6 540 Manchester United
6 540 Chelsea
5 389 WBA
4 360 Hibernian
4 360 Carlisle United
4 260 Birmingham City
4 257 Middlesbrough
3 270 Sheffield United
3 270 Norwich City
3 233 Ferencvaros
3 209 Dyn. Dresden
3 191 Huddersfield Town
3 128 Nottingham Forest
2 195 Mansfield Town
2 180 Crystal Palace
2 180 QPR
2 180 Bristol City
2 180 Jeunesse d'Esch
2 180 Real Sociedad
2 180 Strømsgodset
2 180 Slask Wroclaw
2 180 Din. Bucharest
2 161 Bayern Munich
2 145 Servette
2 136 Blackpool
2 110 Doncaster Rovers
2 30 Barcelona
1 90 Aldershot
1 90 Swindon Town
1 90 Brentford
1 90 Luton Town
1 90 Hull City
1 90 Swansea City
1 90 Aston Villa
1 70 Oxford United
1 44 Dynamo Berlin
1 27 Red Star Belgrade
1 25 AEK Athens
1 7 Gladbach
1 1 Frankfurt
Total Started/substitutions
198 Started
36 On the bench
26 Substitute
10 Substituted
Total Venue
111 Home
107 Away
6 Neutral
Total Competition
155 League
19 FA Cup
17 UEFA Cup
13 League Cup
8 European Fairs Cup
7 European Cup Winners Cup
3 European Cup
2 Charity Shield
Total W D L Win % Manager
154 81 46 27 52.6% Bill Shankly
70 36 18 16 51.4% Bob Paisley
Goals per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 15 3 1 2 0 21
1968-1969 0 0 0 0 0 0
1969-1970 0 0 0 0 0 0
1970-1971 1 1 0 0 0 2
1971-1972 1 0 1 0 0 2
1972-1973 2 0 0 1 0 3
1973-1974 4 2 0 1 0 7
1974-1975 5 0 0 0 0 5
1975-1976 2 0 0 0 0 2
A more detailed look at the player's goalscoring
Assists per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 10 3 1 3 0 17
1968-1969 0 0 0 0 0 0
1969-1970 0 0 0 0 0 0
1970-1971 1 1 0 1 0 3
1971-1972 2 0 0 0 0 2
1972-1973 3 0 0 0 0 3
1973-1974 0 1 1 0 0 2
1974-1975 3 1 0 0 0 4
1975-1976 1 0 0 2 0 3
A more detailed look at the player's assists
Milestone Appearances
# Date Against Stadium Competition
1 07.04.1969 Stoke City Victoria Ground League
50 14.04.1971 Leeds United Anfield Europe
100 24.10.1972 AEK Athens Anfield Europe
150 20.04.1974 Everton Anfield League
200 26.08.1975 Leeds United Elland Road League
Milestone Goals
# Minute Date Against Stadium Competition
1 73 27.03.1971 Everton Old Trafford FA Cup
Related Articles
Brian Hall - The life of Brian

Brian Hall talks EXCLUSIVELY to Shankly.com in March 1999.

Scrapbook
1971
1971
Hall dives in to sink Wolves - 4 October 1975
Hall dives in to sink Wolves - 4 October 1975
Hall hits target in fightback - 15 November 1975
Hall hits target in fightback - 15 November 1975
Hall remembers the FA Cup final in 1974
Hall remembers the FA Cup final in 1974
Hall walks tall after super-show - 7 March 1973
Hall walks tall after super-show - 7 March 1973
Hall's first-time shot brings a golden goal - 24 April 1971
Hall's first-time shot brings a golden goal - 24 April 1971
I volleyed home and the place just erupted - 27 March 1971
I volleyed home and the place just erupted - 27 March 1971
Oh so near! - 8 May 1972
Oh so near! - 8 May 1972
Star choice
Star choice
The goal that booked Wembley - 27 March 1971
The goal that booked Wembley - 27 March 1971
Wembley is a killer - Football Monthly October 1971
Wembley is a killer - Football Monthly October 1971
Other Clubs
Club Season Club rank League apps League goals Total apps Total goals
Plymouth Argyle 1976-1977 England Second Division 37 10 40 10
Plymouth Argyle 1977-1978 England Third Division 14 6 15 6
Burnley 1977-1978 England Second Division 10 1 10 1
Burnley 1978-1979 England Second Division 28 2 31 2
Burnley 1979-1980 England Second Division 5 0 5 0
Northwich Vict. 1980-1985 Alliance Premier League N/A N/A N/A N/A
Total 94 19 101 19