Hall’s Divorce Becomes Public Fodder

We seldom delve into the sordid details of divorce cases, unless warranted by a significant business interest or the parties are notable figures. Both the latter, and the fact that the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette already printed some of the details from a May 19 affirmation by the Arkansas Court of Appeals, allows us to proceed with a clear conscience.

Wally Hall, the D-G’s sports editor and arguably the most recognizable newspaper columnist in the state, also has his own cable television program. Hall had appealed a March 2003 divorce degree that he pay his ex-wife, Cheryl H. Hall, $1,500 per month in alimony.

The newspaper outlined Hall’s lucrative $92,000 D-G salary plus an additional $20,000 to $25,000 he receives from the TV gig. What it didn’t say was how the monetary dispute came about.

The couple, married for 23 years before “each party sought a divorce from the other” in May 2002, apparently reached a settlement agreement on Sept. 5, 2002. At that time, Cheryl Hall said she agreed to take a greater share of their $667,432 in marital property in lieu of alimony because her celebrity husband’s TV contract was uncertain.

A day later, the columnist announced in the newspaper that his TV show had been renewed, prompting the ex-wife’s lawyers to cry foul. The alimony was eventually awarded and Hall lost his appeal.

Hall Testifies in Richardson Case

Two things not related to the Halls’ divorce were the most fascinating.

The court’s ruling came the same day that Wally Hall was summoned to testify in Nolan Richardson’s discrimination lawsuit against the University of Arkansas. Inexplicably, there was no mention in the D-G of Hall’s testimony in that circus.

The most incredible revelation, given Hall’s widespread reputation for crafting often indiscernible similes and metaphors stretched to nanothin proportions, was that the columnist is actually paid six figures. Here’s what $112,000 bought Arkansas sports fans in Hall’s May 13 column:

“It’s like finding out Cinderella took a necklace from one of the wicked stepsisters. That Rocky Balboa kneed Apollo Creed. That Superman likes liver loaf.”

The column was a precursor to the May 15 Preakness Stakes, but we don’t know what any of it means either.