X-citing. X-traordinary. X-cellent. Whatever adjective can be dreamed up, it cannot compare to the 2003 dream season Dante Hall enjoyed for the Kansas City Chiefs. From an appearance on the The Late Show with David Letterman to etching his name into the NFL record books, Dante "The X-Factor" Hall turned the NFL into his own personal playground and helped the Chiefs get back to the postseason for the first time since 1998. As one of the most heralded running backs ever to hail from the football-crazy state of Texas, Hall enjoyed a great deal of success at Texas A&M before being unceremoniously dropped from the team because of a series of parking tickets that drew as much attention as his exploits on the football field. Kansas City Chiefs president and CEO Carl Peterson had been eyeing the five-foot-eight, 187-pound back, but wanted to check with Aggies coach R. C. Slocum before picking Hall in the 2000 draft. Slocum assured Peterson that Hall was a great young man who had made a mistake, so Hall became a member of the Chiefs. He languished on the sidelines under former head coach Gunther Cunningham, appearing in just five games his rookie season. Things were not much better during his second year in the NFL, but then one of the most important moments in HallÂ’s life took place. The Chiefs hired Dick Vermeil as head coach, and he quickly made Hall his top priority. He envisioned Hall as a great return man, a slot back, a wide receiver, and an occasional running back. Hall quickly became the most talked-about return man in the NFL. He returned two punts and one kickoff for a touchdown and earned a spot on the AFC Pro Bowl team. He followed up that campaign with an even more remarkable 2003 season. He became the first man in the history of the NFL to have a return for a touchdown in four consecutive games, and a dizzying, razzle-dazzle 92-yard return against Denver was perhaps the most talked-about touchdown of the entire NFL season. When the Chiefs were holding an 8-0 mark at the midway point of the season, many national broadcasters were calling Hall the leagueÂ’s Most Valuable Player. He became a sensation in Kansas City, hosting his own radio show and joining the ranks of Derrick Thomas, Priest Holmes, Len Dawson, and Otis Taylor as one of the most popular players in team history. In Dante Hall: X-Factor, Hall tells in his own words and photos (many from his private scrapbooks) what the ride to the top has been like. Like one of his thrilling returns for a touchdown, it is a journey fans will definitely not want to miss.
About the Author
Dante Hall was always the smallest kid in the Houston suburb where he grew up, but he was always the first one selected when it came to a game of basketball, football, or any other sporting venture. He also had the smallest nickname—"Te." From his glory days at Nimitz High School and Texas A&M University to the Kansas City Chiefs, his meteoric rise to fame simply proves that good things come in small packages. The young man who now goes by the nickname "The X-Factor" scored two touchdowns—one on a kickoff and one on a pass reception—in the Chiefs’ first playoff game since 1998. He was the toast of the NFL and was selected to represent the league in a series of critically acclaimed commercials that aired to promote the playoffs. Hall currently splits his time between a home in Houston and one in Overland Park, Kansas.
Bill Althaus is an award-winning sportswriter and columnist for The Examiner in Independence, Missouri, where he has worked for 22 years. He is also the author of Sports PublishingÂ’s Priest Holmes: From Sidelines to Center Stage. Althaus has been a member of The ExaminerÂ’s award-winning Missouri Press FoundationÂ’s Top Sports Page three times and has won individual honors from the Associated Press and United Press International. His work has also appeared in USA Today and several Midwest publications.
