Sports Joe B. Hall, who faced the unenviable task of following the winningest coach in Kentucky men’s basketball history and carved out his own legacy with a national championship and three Final Four appearances, died Jan.15. He was 93 years old. Walking in the footstep of a Kentucky giant — the Baron of the Bluegrass, Adolph Rupp — Hall’s crowning coaching achievement was the 1978 national championship, the school’s fifth title but the first in 20 seasons. He also guided the Wildcats to Final Fours in 1975 and 1984. “Some people are larger than life. Others make life larger and better for all of us. In a life that knew the biggest of victories on the biggest of stages, Joe B. Hall did both,” University of Kentucky President Dr. Eli Capilouto said. “He helped coach some of the greatest figures in college sports, won championships and helped expand and enlarge the greatest tradition in college basketball. That’s the Joe B. Hall we all admired.” A native of Cynthiana, Hall was UK men’s head basketball coach from 1972-1985. He played one year of junior varsity and one year of varsity basketball during the “Fabulous Five” era at UK before transferring to the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, where he finished his eligibility and set a single-game scoring record. Following his college basketball career, Hall played on a college all-star team that accompanied the Harlem Globetrotters in Europe and Africa in 1951. He returned to UK and completed his degree requirements in 1955. Hall was one of only three people to play and coach NCAA championship teams, the only one to do so at the same school. “Coach Joe B. Hall — my friend, my mentor, and an icon in our state and in our profession — took over a program and carried on the winning tradition and legacy of excellence of Kentucky basketball,” UK men’s basketball head coach John Calipari said. “He made it the job it is today with his hard work, his ingenuity and his great basketball coaching. Hall compiled a record of 297-100 (74.8%) during his time as Kentucky’s head coach. He won National Coach of the Year honors in 1978 and four Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year awards. He had seven players win All-America honors 11 times. Hall’s squads recorded a 172-62 (73.5%) record versus SEC competition during the regular season, winning eight regular-season titles in 13 seasons and one league tournament championship in seven tries. 40
K E N TUCKY A LU MN I MAG A ZIN E Spring 2022
Photo by Chet White, UK Athletics
LEGENDARY MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH JOE B. HALL DIES AT 93
Cheerleaders presented former men’s basketball coach Joe B. Hall with a birthday cake on his 90th birthday at the men’s basketball game against UNC Greensboro in Rupp arena on Dec. 1, 2018.
Hall saw 24 players drafted during his 13-year tenure, six in the first round. Off the court, Hall earned many recognitions. Hall was named to the 1995 University of Kentucky Alumni Association Hall of Distinguished Alumni and he received a National Service Award in 1988, a recognition given annual to honor and recognize someone to has provided extraordinary service to UK and the UK Alumni Association. He served two three-year terms the UK Alumni Association Board of Directors from 1987-1992. “Coach Hall is an iconic figure in our state and was our greatest link to the history and tradition of Kentucky basketball,” UK Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart said. “The impact he made on our program, the University and the Commonwealth cannot be overstated. “After retiring from coaching, Coach Hall stayed close to the program, continuing to live here and giving so much to our community. Representing this place was immensely important to him. He supported everyone in the Kentucky coaching chair and had a special bond with Coach Calipari, whom he embraced from day one and I know will dearly miss Coach Hall’s insight and wisdom. Our deepest condolences are with his family, friends and all who knew him throughout the Big Blue Nation.” Hall played a large role in the integration of Black student-athletes into the Kentucky men’s basketball program, first as an assistant coach under Rupp, then recruiting Reggie Warford as the program’s second Black recruit in his first freshman class. His wife of 55 years, Katharine Dennis Hall, preceded him in death. He is survived by his daughters, Judy Hall Derrickson (Rick) and Kathy Hall Summers (Mike), and his son Steven Dennis Hall, as well as three grandchildren and three great grandchildren. His sister, Laura Jane Maltby (Bill) also survives him. ■
