[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 33 (Tuesday, February 27, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S2268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         REMEMBERING MIKE HALL

 Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment to 
pay tribute to the memory of Mike Hall, who sadly passed away this last 
Friday.
  Mike was a longtime sportswriter, editor, and columnist with the 
Albuquerque Journal. Though he was born in Muskogee, OK, and began his 
career writing in California, there is no doubt Mike was a great New 
Mexican. Mike first came to New Mexico in 1983 to serve as sports 
editor at the Albuquerque Tribune, and in 1988 he joined the staff at 
the Albuquerque Journal. In his 24 years of reporting in New Mexico, 
both his readers and those he wrote about came to appreciate and 
respect Mike for his knowledge and his humor. He will be truly missed 
by New Mexicans.
  I would also like to offer my deepest condolences to Mike's family, 
his wife Sondra and children Dionne, Jason, Michael, and Kathryn and 
his six grandchildren.
  I ask that an article from the Albuquerque Journal celebrating Mike's 
life and career be printed in the Record.
  The material follows.

             [From the Albuquerque Journal, Feb. 24, 2007]

                    Journal Editor/Writer Dies at 61


 veteran of sports department lived in Abq. since '83; covered boxing, 
                           unm women's hoops

                           (By Lloyd Jojola)

       Mike Hall, a veteran New Mexico journalist who was best 
     known as a sports editor, writer and columnist, died early 
     Friday.
       Most recently, Hall held the title of associate sports 
     editor at the Albuquerque Journal and covered Lobo women's 
     basketball.
       UNM women's basketball coach Don Flanagan said Hall 
     established an ``excellent relationship'' between himself and 
     the players and staff.
       ``Once he got the position of our beat reporter I knew that 
     it was going to help our program immensely just because of 
     his background, how well he was thought of,'' Flanagan said. 
     ``I thought throughout his time his intention was always very 
     positive With our program, and I appreciated the recognition 
     that he brought to the program.''
       Flanagan said Hall did his homework. The coach was often 
     ``amazed'' Hall knew who the staff was recruiting without 
     being told.
       Flanagan might not have always liked the stories that were 
     printed, he said, but Hall was still highly regarded.
       ``I respected him as a reporter and as somebody that would 
     give us honest and fair coverage,'' he said.
       Hall joined the Albuquerque Journal staff in 1988.
       ``Mike Hall was a real pro,'' said Journal Editor Kent 
     Walz. ``He loved what he did, and it showed.
       ``In nearly 20 years here, Mike was a good colleague and a 
     good friend. We'll, miss him.'' Hall died of pneumonia, his 
     family said. The 61-year-old Albuquerque resident had battled 
     lung cancer in recent years and had recovered.
       A memorial service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Feb. 28 at 
     French Mortuary, 10500 Lomas NE.
       Hall launched his newspaper career in the San Francisco Bay 
     Area as a sports reporter for the Berkeley Gazette, covering 
     such teams as the Oakland A's and the Oakland Raiders. He 
     then served as sports news editor at the Wichita Eagle-Beacon 
     before leaving in 1979 to become weekend editor and assistant 
     news editor at The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss., 
     according to past news stories.
       Hall was named sports editor at The Albuquerque Tribune in 
     1983 and also served as the evening newspaper's city editor 
     and as a columnist, before moving to the Albuquerque Journal 
     to become sports editor.
       He became a Journal associate sports editor in 1996 and 
     focused his reporting on UNM women's basketball and boxing.
       Local boxer Danny Romero said Hall had been writing about 
     him since he was a very young, unknown fighter.
       Romero's skills in the ring helped, he said, but Hall's 
     ``the one who made me famous.''
       While stories can sometimes generate contentious 
     relationships between reporters and their subjects, Romero 
     said respect was never lost for Hall.
       ``You didn't always have to have your guard up. As an 
     athlete, you always have to watch out with you guys,'' the 
     fighter said, referring to newspaper reporters. ``With him, 
     you didn't. It was always open arms. He would let you speak 
     your mind and make you sound good.''
       Born in Muskogee, Okla., in 1945, Hall was raised in 
     Wichita, Kan., and studied journalism at Wichita State 
     University, said Sondra Hall, his wife.
       Hall played a lot of sports in his younger days, including 
     boxing as an amateur, added Kathryn Hall, his daughter.
       ``He was never very good at it, he always told me, but he 
     liked it,'' she said.
       Hall loved the crunch of sports reporting: the road trips, 
     the demanding game-time coverage, the interviews and simply 
     getting the story.
       But ultimately, ``he liked to write,'' Kathryn Hall said.
       ``I always thought he just liked to write (newspaper) 
     articles but it turned out he wrote a lot of stuff,'' she 
     said, referring to journals the family found. ``We were 
     reading a lot of it last night.''
       ``He just wrote all the time.''
       Hall's work., with his easygoing style, was recognized 
     multiple times by his peers.
       Among his awards, in 1990 Hall received, along with now 
     Tribune Editor Phill Casaus, the best sports story award from 
     the Albuquerque Press Club for stories on the NCAA's 
     investigation surrounding a UNM track sprinter. The following 
     year, he picked up the top sports writing award from the New 
     Mexico Press Association for stories on athletic spending at 
     UNM. And in 1993, the press association again honored Hall 
     with a first-place award for two sports columns.
       ``He was humorous and fun-loving,'' Kathryn Hall said, 
     ``and very strong and courageous.'' Hall was preceded in 
     death by his parents, Harold Rea Hall and Jewell Gray. His 
     survivors include his wife of 30 years, Sondra; children, 
     Dionne Mantaoni, Jason Hall, Michael Bolton and Kathryn Hall; 
     and six grandchildren.
       Contributions can be made to St. Jude Children's Research 
     Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tenn., 38105.

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