The son of a miner, Hall was born and brought up in North Seaton, Ashington, Northumberland, and he attended nearby Bedlington Grammar School until 1949.
[7] On 10 February 2011, at a ceremony at the Shipley Art Gallery, Hall and his wife were given the freedom of Gateshead for their services to leisure, retail, business and sport.
[8] Hall began his ownership of the team by taking over Newcastle United in a bitter battle for control and appointing Kevin Keegan as manager in February 1992.
[9] After taking over Newcastle United, Hall announced his intention to create a "sporting club" along similar lines to multi-sport institutions in Europe such as FC Barcelona.
[10] Hall planned to build a new rugby, football and ice-skating stadium at Leazes Park but the scheme was rejected after a 38,000-signature petition against it was organised by local residents.