2015 Inductees

Donald Hall

A long and varied career in sport has earned Donald Hall recognition as one of Berwick's top all-round athletes of his era.

Born in South Berwick Oct. 22, 1931, Don began his athletic career as a young man. While a student at the then Berwick High School, Don excelled both at hockey and baseball.

He played defence for the Berwick school team from 1945 to 1948, and also starred for the Berwick juniors and juveniles in 1947 and 1948.
Following his high school graduation, in the fall of 1948 Don moved on to Dalhousie University, where he played the 1948-1949 hockey season with the Tigers varsity team.

He spent the 1949-1950 season at Acadia, and played for the Axemen junior varsity hockey team, before returning to Dalhousie and two more seasons (1950-1952) with the Tigers.

On the baseball field, Don, a second baseman and catcher, played for the Berwick Junior Red Sox from 1946 to 1950, for the Windsor Royals juvenile team in 1949, and for the Centralia (Ontario) RCAF team in 1951.

He was a member of the 1949 Berwick Red Sox juvenile baseball team that was inducted into the Berwick Sports Hall of Fame in June of 2008. Fellow team mate Harry Morse credits Don for the success of the team, and said it was because of Don’s great organizing as well as his athletic skills as team catcher, that the team was so successful. Don made contact with players of the Kentville Wildcats team, many of whom went on to play in the National Leagues. These players often came out to Berwick and spent time coaching and mentoring the Berwick players, thus adding to the player’s skills and the overall success of the team.

A true all-round athlete, Don also participated in track and field. He excelled at track and field. Specializing in the mile run (today's closest equivalent would be the 1,500-metre run), he took part in the original Acadia Relays as a high school student in 1948. That same year, he placed third at the Maritime Intercollegiate competition. Berwick School teammate Harry Morse vividly recalls trying to win races against Don Hall, but with Don’s determination and speed, he was unbeatable. Harry remembers Don coming down the final stretch of a race gritting his teeth and pulling ahead of him to win.

Don eventually made a smooth transition from athlete to coach and builder, though he continued as an athlete for several more years, including a four-year stint (1971-1975) with the Berwick Oldtimers hockey squad. In what spare time he had, Don was an expert-level recreational skier and enjoyed golfing.

Don's coaching career began as a player-coach and manager for the Berwick Red Sox baseball team in the late 1940s. During those same years, he organized the peewee division of minor baseball in Berwick, and also served as one of the first peewee coaches.

In the early 1970s, Don organized the peewee division of Berwick Minor Hockey, and coached peewee hockey from 1971 to 1973.

Also in the 1970s, he served as Secretary-Treasurer for both Berwick Minor Hockey and the local figure skating association.

Don ran a successful law practice in Berwick from 1959 to 1982. Following that he was appointed a County Court Judge in District 4 and in January 1993 was appointed a judge in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, a position he retired from in October of 2006. Don continued working as a member of the Canada Pension Appeal Board from 2006 to 2014.

The Berwick Sports Hall of Fame is pleased to induct, as an athlete and builder, Donald Hall.