Henry Hall was a famous ski jumper who skied from 1910 to 1930. He became a world champion and held two world records.

Henry C. Hall was born in Ishpeming, Michigan in 1893. He was the best of five Hall brothers who skied throughout the United States and Canada from 1910 to 1930. When they were children their father would have them jump off their front porch so they could beat their Swedish and Finnish neighbors. He also started them walking a tight rope in a big barn in order to improve their equilibrium.

Henry Hall won the National Ski Association National Ski Jumping Title in 1916 at Glenwood, Minnesota and a year later established the World Ski Jumping Distance Record of 203 feet at Steamboat Springs, Colorado, the first of two world records set in his career. The Colorado ski fans present at Steamboat Springs’ famed Howelsen Hill that day in 1917 cheered wildly, placed American flags in Hall’s hands, hoisted him to their shoulders and carried him to his hotel. That was a proud moment for American skiing for here was a World Distance Record holder who was a native-born American, the first to ever hold such a title. Hall’s second World Distance Record was set at Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada in 1921 when he upped the distance record to 229 ½ feet.

The following is a summary of some of Henry’s accomplishments:

1913: World Amateur Champion – 164 ft., Duluth, Minnesota
1916: National Champion – Glenwood, Minnesota
1917: World professional Champion – 203 ft., Steamboat Springs, Colorado (He was the “First American-born” to win an international meet and the first person internationally to jump over 200 ft. He outdistanced the previous record by 11ft.)
1920: 2nd National Championship – Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
1921: Professional World record – 229 ½ ft., Revelstoke, British Columbia
1924: Henry was World Ski Jumping Record holder but he could not afford to go to the Olympics in France so he sadly did not try out.
He continued to win ski jumps until age 43.
Last jump recorded for television at age 79.
Cross country skied until age 91.

Henry Christian Hall was elected to the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 1967. In 1974 he was inducted into the Michigan Amateur Sports Hall of Fame in Utica, Michigan. In 2001 he was inducted into the Trondelag Folkanemuseum, Trondheim, Norway.