Hall of Fame netminder Glenn Hall, who got his start in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings, would become known league-wide for one of the more bizarre pre-game rituals in the history of the game.

“He would throw up before every game,” remembered former Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman. He was Hall’s coach with the St. Louis Blues. “It got to the point where if he didn’t throw up, he didn’t feel like he would play well.”

The Detroit Red Wings are saddened to learn of the passing of Glenn Hall at the age of 94.

Hall began his storied career with the Red Wings from 1952-57. Known as “Mr. Goalie”, Hall won the Calder Trophy in 1956 as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year and was a two-time Stanley Cup… pic.twitter.com/0YqQZReFB8

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 8, 2026

Hall, who died Wednesday at the age of 94, also would partake in another lesser-known, yet arguably equally bizarre pre-game ritual.

He liked to read poetry. Hall felt it calmed his nerves while dealing with the intense pressure involved when someone earns their living as an NHL puckstopper.

It was a passion he sought to share with his goaltending proteges when he moved into his post-playing career as a goalie coach.

“Him and (coach) Tom Watt would sit there and recite poetry to me,” former Red Wings goalie Mike Vernon recalled in Mr. Goalie, the award-winning documentary about Hall’s life. “Something you would never think of from a hockey player, or a goalie.”

Hall was Vernon’s goalie coach with the Calgary Flames when the Flames won the Stanley Cup in 1988-89.

“He never came on the ice once with me,” Vernon remembered. “It was all about the game … the mental preparation. ‘What’s going through your mind at this particular time?’

“In certain plays, or certain situations on the ice, he was wondering what I was thinking at a particular time.”

Remembering Hall’s Red Wings Roots

Hall made his NHL debut for Detroit in a 2-2 tie against the Montreal Canadiens at the Montreal Forum. He was the last surviving member of Detroit’s 1954-55 Stanley Cup-winning team.

He was one of the best goalies in hockey history and that all started with the Red Wings. Glenn Hall, famously was sick to his stomach before playing every game. He has passed at the age of 94. pic.twitter.com/WL5uhJ5H2d

— John Keating (@JohnKeatingTV) January 8, 2026

Hall won the Calder Trophy with the Red Wings in 1955-56. He was also named to the NHL First All-Star Team that season.