Troubled Hall found redemption and helped spread the word

[The Coon Dog]

Bob Murphy - The Age - 21 July

IF THE Catholic Church took the unlikely step of canonising Barry Hall, he would be in the mould of Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children.

Hall is gifted, and not all his gifts are confined to a football field or boxing ring. Young people flock to him, in biblical proportions, from toddlers to draftees. They're drawn to the big man with the warmest of smiles. Which all makes sense; let's not forget, he started out as a Saint.

I first met Hall in the Gaelic hybrid series in 2003. I was just a kid in my fourth year of league footy. Big, Bustling Barry had dropped the ''Bad'' since he'd joined Sydney, and was a major force in the competition.

Article in full...

[chef]

Heard the other day that Murph's mum was a nun at the local catholic church here in Ky(and some members of her side of the family are still in this area) when she was younger and is now shunned by some members of her family for giving it up. She also has a sister that did the same thing.

[the banker]

One of Murph's best articles.

What an authentic feeling of belonging and a massive lift in pride Barry has brought to the supporters of the Club this week, with his Bulldog for life sentiment.

[LostDoggy]

Yes, I enjoyed reading Murph's column this morning over my coffee! I think he has summed up how many of us feel about Bazza and how he seems to have fitted into this club of ours! Also, gotta love the pranks - "stealing my car and putting it in the goalsquare at Whitten Oval........" Love it

[Daughter of the West]

One of Murph's best articles.

What an authentic feeling of belonging and a massive lift in pride Barry has brought to the supporters of the Club this week, with his Bulldog for life sentiment.

Agreed.

I've been getting (almost) a little teary this week, talking about Baz's eventual departure. I had to remind myself the other day that he's only been at the club since last year, it's felt like he's been there a lifetime. You can't say that about too many recruits.

And now the "hiding cars" references finally make sense (I hadn't heard about it before the press conference the other day)!

[LostDoggy]

Agreed.

I've been getting (almost) a little teary this week, talking about Baz's eventual departure. I had to remind myself the other day that he's only been at the club since last year, it's felt like he's been there a lifetime. You can't say that about too many recruits.

And now the "hiding cars" references finally make sense (I hadn't heard about it before the press conference the other day)!

I feel the same!! Have been feeling very sad this week.

Loved the part in Bob's article "On the final night of the tour in Melbourne, we were ''bonding'' into the wee hours, and every so often Hall would lean into my ear, wearing that broad grin of his, and in the deepest of whispers say, ''I'm gunna shave your head tonight''.

[Murphy'sLore]

Wouldn't that just send shivers down your spine!

[LostDoggy]

Fantastic article, I love reading about another side of Baz that can sometimes be easy to forget (due to his sheer size and intimidation of just how he looks!).

[AndrewP6]

Great read, the bit about making car theft in Footscray "cool again" was very good.

[w3design]

I'm glad there was clarification about the car hiding, in the initial reports I took it to mean bazza was hiding IN cars. which brought up all sorts of wonderful mental images. It's one thing to have a huntsman scare the bejesus out of you, imagine driving off and Barry's head suddenly looms from the back seat !!

[Doc26]

Like how Bobby managed to slot in a hit on that bloke we've moved on from & managing to achieve it without sounding a jerk.
Another beauty from Bob.