 In 1934 Hall received one of the great honors of his career when he was elected president of the American Association of Baseball Writers.Hall's tenure at the "Minneapolis Journal" ended in 1939 when the newspaper was purchased by John Cowles, Sr. After acquiring the "Journal", Cowles merged it with the "Minneapolis Star", thus creating the "Minneapolis Star-Journal".Cowles would rename the newspaper the "Minneapolis Star" in 1947.