{{short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder |image= |birth_date=October 8, 1901 |birth_place= Social Hill, Arkansas |death_date={{death date and age|1961|1|14|1901|10|8}} |death_place= | resting_place = Roselawn Memorial Park<br />Little Rock, Arkansas |office = 24th Secretary of State of Arkansas |term_start = 1937 |term_end = January 14, 1961 |governor = Carl E. Bailey<br>Homer M. Adkins<br>Benjamin T. Laney<br>Sid McMath<br>Francis A. Cherry<br>Orval E. Faubus |predecessor = Ed F. McDonald |successor = Nancy J. Hall |alma_mater = University of Arkansas<br>Arkansas Law School | profession = Lawyer, politician |spouse = Nancy J. Hall |children = Nancy Anne Hall | known_for = |signature = Crip Hall signature.png }}
'''Claris Gustavius "Crip" Hall''' (October 8, 1901 – January 14, 1961) was a noted lawyer and politician who served as the Secretary of State of Arkansas for 25 years. He took the nickname "Crip" following a lifelong handicap caused by a childhood case of polio.
== Early life and education == Hall was born on October 8, 1901, in Social Hill, Arkansas, an unincorporated community near Malvern, Arkansas in the Ouachita Mountains, to John R. Hall and Elizabeth ({{nee|Hodges}}) Hall. He attended Malvern School District and played catcher on the baseball team.<ref name="eoa">{{ Cite encyclopedia |first=Kaye |last=Lundgren |date= June 5, 2021 |title= Claris Gustavius "Crip" Hall (1901–1961) |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/claris-g-crip-hall-11801/ |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Arkansas |publisher= Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System |location=Little Rock |access-date=August 13, 2022 }}</ref> Following graduation, he attended the University of Arkansas, earning a degree in journalism in 1924. Hall was active on campus, becoming a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, serving as president of the sophomore class, and editor and business manager of ''The Arkansas Traveler'', the UA student newspaper. He also founded the Arkansas Booster Club.<ref>{{cite book |last= Herndon |first=Dallas Tabor |title= Annals of Arkansas |year= 1947 |publisher= Historical Record Association |location= Hopkinsville, Kentucky |volume= 4 |page= 1095 |oclc=3920841}}</ref>
He married Nancy Pearl Johnson on October 5, 1929. Hall enrolled in the Arkansas Law School, now known as the William H. Bowen School of Law, and began practicing law with E. B. Dillon, representing a major oil company statewide.<ref name="eoa" />
==Political career== {{See also|1934 Arkansas elections}} Hall sought to enter politics in 1934 by challenging incumbent Arkansas Secretary of State Ed F. McDonald in the Democratic primary. During the Solid South, the Democratic Party held firm control of virtually every office in The South, including Arkansas. Winning the Democratic primary was considered tantamount to election. McDonald defeated Hall by a 60%-40% margin.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://uark.as.atlas-sys.com/repositories/2/resources/554 C.G. "Crip" Hall Materials - University of Arkansas Libraries, Special Collections]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Crip}} Category:1901 births Category:1961 deaths Category:People from Malvern, Arkansas Category:Secretaries of state of Arkansas Category:Arkansas Democrats Category:American politicians with disabilities Category:University of Arkansas alumni Category:20th-century Arkansas politicians