Hall of Fame
For four decades Mr. Tom Hall guided the Fayetteville-Manlius High School lacrosse team to dominance right up until his retirement in 1999.
Hall, a 1958 graduate of Fayetteville-Manlius, initiated the boys lacrosse program in 1964 when he was hired as a history teacher by the district just a year after earning his Bachelor of Science in history at Cortland State College.
It wasn’t long before being named the head coach in ‘64 that he lifted the program to new heights notching four Section III titles, six league titles and reaching the NYSPHSAA State Finals in 1988 and 1993. During his 36-year tenure as head coach, Hall influenced over 350 F-M players go on to play collegiate lacrosse including 25 who earned All-American status in college and 17 who earned high school All-American honors.
Individually, Hall accumulated a 454-185-1 career record ranking him sixth in wins in New York State and making him one of only eight coaches nationally with over 400 wins. Further, he has earned several national awards including the National Federation Interscholastic Coaches Association (NFICA) Boys Lacrosse Coach of the Year in 2000 and Outstanding Coach recognition by the National Federation in 1999 and 2000. In New York State, Hall is one of the top high school coaches. While coaching and following his retirement, he was inducted into the United States Coaches Association Upstate New York Chapter Hall of Fame (1993) and into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame (2003). Section III also honored him with “Man of the Year” plaudits five times during the 1980’s and 90’s.
His contributions to lacrosse go well beyond coaching. He is currently the NYSPHSAA Boys Lacrosse State Coordinator, and the Section III Boys Lacrosse Chairman, where he’s served since 1986 and 1976 respectively. In 1973, Hall began a 27-year term of service as chairman of the Onondaga High School League (OHSL).
Born in Syracuse, Mr. Hall earned a Masters in history from SUNY Cortland in 1966.