12/11/2025
We have lost a great historian. Ann Hall was an author of many books that focused on women's sports histories in Canada. From the North American Society of Sports Historian's notice...
"It is with great sorrow that NASSH has learned of the sudden December 2nd death of Ann Hall, a giant in the field of sport sociology/history. An inspiration to a legion of senior and junior socio-cultural scholars of sport, the loss of her presence among us will be keenly felt. Our discipline has been greatly privileged by her dedication to sport in general throughout her life, especially the cause of women in what history tells us was largely a patriarchal world. Ann was born in Toronto on 9 March 1942. A devotee of sport participation in her teenage years, she envisioned a career in teaching physical education, a quest that led her to enroll at Queen’s University in Kingston, from which she graduated in 1964 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Health and Physical Education. A brief stint of high school teaching followed, commensurate with an era in which singular attention began to rise in academic circles for attention to the scientific examination of sport philosophy, sociology, and history. Inspired by these phenomena, Ann sought a Master’s Degree at the University of Alberta, at the time, a pioneer institution in the study of sport in a sociocultural context. Ann obtained that Master’s Degree in 1968. Pursuing further education, she was accepted into the PhD program at Great Britain’s distinguished University of Birmingham, graduating in 1974.
Coincident with the conferring of her doctoral degree, Ann accepted a faculty position at the University of Alberta, commencing an active university teaching/research career of 23 years until her retirement in 1997. Her focus was on the sociological dimensions of sport, particularly on the subject of gender relations. Author of 9 books, 25 book chapters, 25 articles in peer-reviewed journals, 23 reviews of scholarly books on sport history/sociology themes, and a massive record of conference papers delivered nationally and internationally during a professional career of some 57 years, most of it as a faculty member and professor emerita at the University of Alberta, her impact on the examination of women in sport ranks her in the “front row-centre” of her discipline’s most notable scholar figures. In her 28 years of retirement Ann continued a dedication towards research and publication, resulting in one of her best-known works: The Girl and the Game: A History of Women’s Sport in Canada (2002).
Ann is survived by Jane Hazlett, her longtime dressage pal and cherished life partner of 42 years standing. An occasional attendee at NASSH conferences, Ann Hall was an esteemed inspiration to many a NASSH member, young and old, a lady who appreciated and studied sport history, as much of her work demonstrates. We will not forget her; honor to her name and to our memory of her."
Ann became my mentor in the writing of a book I've been working on. She provided gentle guidance in giving me feedback and sharing her sage wisdom about research, writing and publishing. She was a kind spirit and always giving of her time. She will be greatly missed.
https://mannhall.com
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