George William Hall (March 29, 1849 – June 11, 1923) was a professional baseball player who played in the National Association and later the National League. Born in Stepney, England, Hall later immigrated to the U.S. He made his professional debut on May 5, 1871. While playing for the Louisville Grays, he was banned from Major League Baseball after an 1877 gambling scandal. Early career Prior to the inception of professional leagues, Hall played for the Brooklyn Atlantics. He commenced his professional career with the Washington Olympics of the National Association in , hitting .294 in 32 games. He played for the Baltimore Canaries in and seasons, hitting .336 and .345 respectively. Playing mostly center field up to this point, he shifted from center to right field the following year when he played for the champions, the Boston Red Stockings. After just one season with the Red Stockings, he moved on to play for the Philadelphia Athletics, where he had another good season at the plate, hitting .299, with four home runs, which placed second in the league behind Jim O'Rourke's six. National League After the 1875 season, the National Association folded, which left room for a new league to begin. In , the National League came into existence, the first official "Major League". Hall's team, the Athletics, followed that movement with very little success, finishing seventh out of eight teams. One of the bright spots that year for the Athletics was the hitting prowess of their star hitter, Hall. He led the team in almost all major hitting categories including a .366 batting average, 51 runs scored, and a league leading five home runs. On June 17, 1876, he became the first Major League baseball player to hit two home runs in one game. Those five home runs stood as the single season home run record until Charley Jones hit nine in . For the baseball season, Philadelphia had been expelled from the league for refusing to go on a western road trip, late in the 1876 season, for financial reasons, so Hall moved on to play for the Louisville Grays. Again, he had an excellent season, hitting .323, scoring 51 runs, and hitting 8 triples. Surprisingly, after appearing in the league leaders for home runs the last two seasons, he did not hit one in 1877. Possible first cycle Some baseball researchers attribute Hall as being the first