Courtney Hall obit

Courtney Hall, former Chargers and Rice football player, dies

 

He was not on the list.

Courtney Hall, a former Rice football player who went on to play eight seasons in the NFL, has died. He was 52.

Hall, a Los Angeles native, graduated from high school at age 16 and was still a teenager when he began his senior season for the Owls. 

A four-year letterman at Rice from 1985-88, Hall started all 44 games in his Owls career, He earned first-team All-Southwest Conference accolades in 1987 and 1988 and is the only Rice player on the conference's all-decade team for the 1980s. He also was a two-time winner of the George Martin award that goes to the team MVP.

Hall, who graduated from Rice with a double major in managerial studies and economics, was inducted into the Rice Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995 at age 27. He also was inducted into the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame in 2019.

After his time at Rice, Hall was a second-round pick of the Chargers in the 1989 draft and became an immediate starter at center as a rookie. He switched to left guard in his second season before moving back to center, where he played his final six seasons.

Hall was a captain on San Diego's 1994 AFC championship team that remains the franchise's only Super Bowl squad. He started all 118 games as a pro and was named as an alternate to the Pro Bowl four times. He also was voted to the 1989 NFL All-Rookie Team.

Hall had been working in venture capital after his playing days. He earned an MBA and law degree from the University of Chicago and co-founded Hillcrest Venture Partners in New York, where he served as managing director.

"We're incredibly saddened by news of Courtney's passing," the Chargers said in a statement. "His detractors thought he was too small for his position coming out of college but it turned out that his intelligence, hunger and toughness were what actually would set him apart from his peers. ... Courtney had so much more life to live and has been taken from us far too soon."

Tragically, Hall is the ninth player from that 1994 Chargers team to die at a young age. Eight of his 1994 teammates died before age 45.

His notable teammates include: Jim McMahon, David Archer, Marion Butts, Tim Spencer, Martin Blayless, Gill Byrd, Chris Bahr, Quinn Early, Bill Ray Smith Jr. Leslie O’Neal, Anthony Miller, Gary Plummer, Lee Williams, Junior Seau, John Friesz, John Carney, Rod Bernstine, Ronnie Harmon, Yancey Thigpen, Bob Gagliano, John Kidd, Stan Humphries, Brian Brennan, Trent Green, Chris Mims, Natrone Means, Darrien Gordon, Rodney Harrison, Tony Martin, Alfred Pupunu, Stan Brock, Darren Bennett, Sean Salisbury, Leonard Russell and Kevin Ross.

His coaches include: Dan Henning and Bobby Ross.

Hall is survived by his wife, LaShann DeArcy.