Barney Hall

Barney Hall (June 24, 1932 – January 26, 2016) was an American sports commentator for Motor Racing Network, formerly calling NASCAR races. Hall broadcast races for over 50 years.[1] Hall is considered as one of the best NASCAR commentators of all-time.[2] MRN director David Hyatt stated, "Motor Racing Network is ‘The Voice of NASCAR’ and Barney Hall is the voice of MRN."[3]

Barnet "Barney" Hall
Born(1932-06-24)June 24, 1932
Elkin, North Carolina, US
DiedJanuary 26, 2016(2016-01-26) (aged 83)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationSports commentator
EmployerMotor Racing Network
Spouse(s)
Karen Carrier
(
m. 1981⁠–⁠2016)

Career

Hall was born at Elkin, North Carolina in 1932.[4] After serving four years in the United States Navy, Hall's career started in the 1950s working for local radio stations in Elkin, particularly as disk jockey at WIFM-FM for 13 years.[4]

In 1960, Hall became the first person to work on the public address system at Bristol Motor Speedway, which was stated as "dumb luck".[5] When Motor Racing Network started in 1970, Hall became a turn announcer, before becoming a booth announcer. Hall has commentated all but three Daytona 500s in his career, and in the 1979 edition, Hall introduced his catchphrase, "flag-to-flag coverage of The Great American Race."[6] On July 5, 2014, Hall announced that the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona would be his final broadcast.[7]

In 2007, he was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Hall of Fame.[8] On May 23, 2012, the NASCAR Hall of Fame announced the creation of the Squier-Hall Award for Media Excellence, named for Hall and former MRN reporter Ken Squier.[6]

On January 26, 2016, MRN president David Hyatt announced that Hall had died at the age of 83 after complications from surgery.[9] He was survived by his wife of 35 years, Karen Carrier.[10]

gollark: It's a weird mess, you see, because I secretly dug an extra tunnel network into it.
gollark: The only things on it are the GTech PotatOS Control Bunker and terra's weird mess.
gollark: Eeeeh.
gollark: Er, was.
gollark: They got bored and TC5 is not the best managed.

References
  1. Aumann, Mark (April 24, 2007). "10 Questions: Barney Hall". NASCAR.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  2. Caldwell, Clayton (May 14, 2009). "NASCAR's 10 Best Broadcasters of All Time". BleacherReport.com. Bleacher Report, Inc. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  3. "Barney Hall Rejoins MRN at Martinsville". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. March 28, 2012. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  4. "Barney Hall: 1932-2016". MRN.com. Concord, North Carolina: Motor Racing Network. January 26, 2016. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  5. "MRN Radio Announcers". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  6. "Media Award Named for Hall, Squier". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. May 23, 2012. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  7. Gluck, Jeff (July 5, 2014). "Barney Hall will make final call for MRN at Daytona". USA Today. Daytona Beach, Florida: Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  8. "NHOF: NASCAR Adds Media Excellence Award To Annual Hall Honors". speedtv.com. Daytona Beach, Florida: Speed Channel, Inc. May 23, 2012. Archived from the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  9. Gluck, Jeff; Hembree, Mike (January 27, 2016). "Legendary NASCAR announcer Barney Hall dies". USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  10. "Legendary NASCAR broadcaster Barney Hall dies at 83". Associated Press. Daytona Beach, Florida: AP Sports. Associated Press. January 27, 2016. Archived from the original on January 28, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.