Inductees

Ask the man known as “The Human Joystick” of his favorite play of a mile-long NFL highlight reel and he smiles that trademark smile. You see, Dante Hall figures Kansas City Chiefs fans assume it’s the one against the Denver Broncos in 2002.

They actually might like his favorite one better. And his final quote, too.

“Oakland went up late, and Christmas was about to be ruined by the hated Raiders,” Hall said, recalling Christmas Night 2004, when his 49-yard late fourth-quarter kickoff return flipped the script and set up a game-winning field goal. “The special teams saved the day. The others all helped my stat line and that helped my bottom line.”

It certainly further hyped the mystique surrounding Hall, who dropped jaws as a kick return specialist and slot receiver through a nine-year National Football League career – and the reason why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted him with the Class of 2018.

A fifth-round draft pick in 2000 out of Texas A&M who played for the Chiefs until 2006 and then two seasons with the St. Louis Rams, Hall converted from running back to a slot back suited perfectly for Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil’s gadget plays — plus ratcheted up his role on special teams.

Put it this way, Hall’s 12,397 return yards are sixth-best in NFL history, which explains his name on two post-career awards: the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s as a kick and punt returner and the 10^th greatest return specialist in NFL history on the NFL Network’s “Top 10 Return Aces.”

In essence, he was a guy you had to stop and watch, just to see if his endless jukes and dipsy-doos left defenders falling to the ground.

That happened twice actually against the Broncos during Hall’s defining act – a 13-game stretch from late 2002 to mid-2003. Check it out: 10 touchdowns along with 2,039 all-purpose yards and an average of 19.2 yards per catch, all as the Chiefs went 11-2. It’s all on YouTube these days.

“Coach Vermeil put an emphasis on (special teams) in practice,” Hall said. “We had three-hour practices, and we’d work on it for an hour.”

Vermeil, who had transformed Az-Zahir Hakim into a dangerous return man for the late 1990s-early 2000s Rams, turned around Hall’s career.

So off to the developmental NFL Europe Hall went in 2001, to play for the Scottish Claymores and learn slot receiver.

Cold showers. Tiny locker rooms that resembled aging 1960s-era small high school facilities. And all for a new coach who hadn’t drafted him.

“It was a humbling experience,” Hall said. “But off the field, it broadened my horizons. I had to decide if I was going to be bitter or adapt to a new place, new culture and people who didn’t look like me. I did the latter.”

The decision led to Hall’s two Pro Bowl selections (2002, 2003) and helped the Chiefs to the playoffs in 2002, 2005 and 2006.

In fact, as of August 2018, he was the Chiefs’ all-time leader in kickoff returns (360), kickoff return yardage (8,644) and kickoff return touchdowns (6). He also is third in kick return average (24.0). Additionally, he is the Chiefs’ all-time leader in punts returned for touchdowns (5) and ranks second and third, respectively, in punt returns (188) and punt return yards (1,930) in team history.

This by a guy whose support system as a youth in Houston, Texas positioned him for the NFL.

You see, Hall was raised by a single mom who attended almost every game.  Plus, Nimitz High School coach Burnis Simon took him under his wing after Hall’s dad passed away – just as the two were growing close.

At A&M, running backs coach Ken Rucker became a mentor. And the team’s punter was Shane Lechler, who a seven-time NFL Pro Bowl selection and six-time All-Pro the past 18 years.

“Catching everyone else’s punts,” Hall said, “was easy after A&M.”

Hall certainly made it fun to watch, and now he’s having fun as a family man in New Jersey, as he and his wife, Kathryn, are parents to a son and two daughters.

Of course, one day he’ll tell the kids all about those returns and how Monty Beisel, Derrick Blaylock, Gary Stills, Quinton Carver blocked on special teams and punter Jason Baker kicked to him in practice.

“They’re still friends to this day,” Hall said. “I realize that no matter what you’ve done, no successful person is successful by themselves.”