Homewood senior center fielder Josh Hall broke the national stolen base record on April 20 in the first round of the state playoffs against Minor.
Hall stole the 212th base of his career in the second inning of the first game, eclipsing the national record of 211 previously held by Haddon McIntosh of Norman Community School in Oklahoma.
“It was a pretty amazing feeling,” Hall said. “I felt better about the state record, but this is on a much larger scale with it being a national record and being in the state playoffs.”
Hall broke the Alabama High School Athletic Association record on March 14 by stealing his 165th career base against John Carroll Catholic. “We felt like he would get that,” said Homewood coach Lee Hall, Josh’s dad. “The national record is something we didn’t think about. But after he broke the state record, the media said he was closing in on the national record. For him to do that was unexpected, but great to see.”
Josh Hall finished his record-setting day with nine steals, bringing his total to 219, as the Patriots swept Minor 16-0 and 15-3 to advance to the second round.
Hall also holds the AHSAA single-season stolen base record with 81 steals in 45 games during his sophomore season in 2016, while playing for Randolph High in Huntsville.
—Rubin E. Grant
