Hall, who was born in England but moved with his family to Winnipeg and then to Brandon, Manitoba, played on three pre-NHL Stanley Cup championship teams. He was a forward and then became a tough, skilled defenseman before his career ended tragically when he died at age 37.

He was a member of the Kenora Thistles when they won the Cup in January 1907, then joined the Quebec Bulldogs of the National Hockey Association (the NHL's predecessor) for the 1910-11 season. Hall and his new team won the Cup in 1912 and 1913. He scored 15 goals in 18 games in 1911-12, and 13 in 19 games two years later.

The NHL was formed in 1917, and Hall joined the Montreal Canadiens. Though in his mid-30s at that point, he was still a productive player. Ironically, one of his best friends on the Canadiens was forward Newsy Lalonde, a bitter rival during their NHA days.

Hall and the Canadiens headed west to face Seattle of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association in the 1919 Stanley Cup Final, a rematch of their series two years earlier when Seattle became the first U.S.-based team to win the Cup. The teams were even at 2-2 with one tie in the best-of-5 series when health officials canceled the rest of the series because of the influenza epidemic.

Most of the Canadiens had become ill during the series and required hospitalization. All recovered except Hall, who contracted pneumonia and died April 5, 1919.

Hall was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961.