Kansas City Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt has announced that former returner/wide receiver Dante Hall will be the 2023 inductee into the Chiefs Hall of Fame. Hall is the 52nd individual and 48th player to earn this coveted honor. The official enshrinement ceremony into the Chiefs Hall of Fame will be held during Chiefs Legends Weekend at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium this fall.
"My family and I are delighted to announce Dante as this year's inductee into the Chiefs Hall of Fame," Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said. "It's not every day you get to witness a generational talent at the returner position, but Chiefs Kingdom was blessed to witness Dante's talent for seven seasons. His quickness, agility and pure athleticism as a returner and wide receiver cemented him as one of the franchise's greats. Following his playing career, Dante joined the Kansas City Ambassador program and has been an active participant in the brand's international expansion efforts. We are looking forward to celebrating Dante's Hall of Fame induction at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium this fall."
Hall spent seven seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs (2000-06), appearing in 97 games (10 starts) which is tied for the seventh most by a wide receiver in franchise history. Hall was named to two-straight Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams following the 2002-03 seasons, becoming the second player in Chiefs history to garner a Pro Bowl selection as a return specialist. Hall was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week seven times, the most of any player in Chiefs history. He was also named first-team NFL 2000s All-Decade Team as a punt returner and second-team NFL 2000s All-Decade Team as a kick returner.
He returned 360 kicks for 8,644 yards with six touchdowns and 188 punts for 1,882 yards with five touchdowns. His 11 total return touchdowns are a franchise best, and he sits at – or near the top – of virtually every Chiefs career, season and single-game record list as a return specialist. Hall accumulated 1,615 receiving yards on 145 receptions with nine touchdowns and 215 rushing yards on 47 attempts. His 12,356 combined yards ranks first in franchise history.
Hall recorded five seasons with 1,000+ kickoff return yards, ranking sixth-most such seasons in NFL history. On December 8, 2002, Hall returned both a kickoff and punt for a touchdown, making him just the eighth player in NFL history to score on both a kickoff return and punt return in the same game and the only individual in Chiefs annals to own that distinction. In 2003, Hall recorded four-consecutive games with a kick return touchdown which was the first time in league history such a feat was accomplished. Later that season, he returned a kickoff for a touchdown in the playoffs, marking the second time any NFL player recorded five kick return scores in a season including playoffs (only one player has done it since).
Hall was originally drafted by the Chiefs in the fifth round (153rd overall) of the 2000 NFL Draft. He played collegiately at Texas A&M where he finished with 4,707 all-purpose yards, the second-highest tally in school history at the time. His 943 career punt return yards also ranked second in Aggies history at the time. In 43 games, Hall started 25 games, rushed 522 times for 2,818 yards with 22 touchdowns, caught 22 passes for 260 yards, returned 78 punts for 943 yards with two touchdowns and returned 32 kickoffs for 686 yards. Hall had eight 100-yard rushing games. He was named first-team All-Big 12 in 1996 and second-team All-Big 12 in 1997. While at Texas A&M, Hall majored in sociology.
Off the field, Hall participated in a myriad of philanthropic events. He partnered with the NFL's "Play It Smart" program, serving as a mentor to the Central High School football team in Kansas City. In 2003, Hall was named the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City "Role Model of the Year," which is selected by the children. The following year, Hall partnered with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, KaBoom! and the Kansas City Missouri Parks and Recreation Department to construct an inner-city playground, and also received the Special Achievement for Professional Athletics Award from the Kansas City Sports Commission.
Following his playing career, the Houston, Texas, native continued his philanthropic efforts by being an active out-of-town Kansas City Ambassador. Hall was part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Kansas City Most Wanted Auction in 2022.
He currently resides in the Summit, New Jersey, area where he's played an active role in expanding the Chiefs brand internationally by participating in multiple marketing and goodwill trips to Germany as well as regularly working with Sky Sports out of the United Kingdom. As a Hall of Fame player for NFL Europe's Scottish Claymores, Hall's experience gives him a unique perspective of how the NFL is perceived internationally, therefore playing an integral part in growing the Kingdom.
