If we were doing a five-year ranking, Colby Hall would be sitting comfortably at the top thanks to back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023. But this is a 10-year ranking, and those first six years of the decade were… less than inspiring for Colby Hall, seen above, looking more and more like every composite sketch released after a teenage hitchhiker disappeared in the late 1970s.
Speaking of disappearing…from 2016-2021, Colby struggled mightily, posting a 31-48 record, the second-worst six-year stretch this decade ahead of only Griff. He managed just one winning season during that run, a 7-6 campaign in 2018, despite leading the league in scoring.
He reached the postseason only twice, once as the No. 3 seed in 2018 and once as the No. 8 seed in 2020. Neither trip lasted long. He was bounced in the quarterfinals by sixth-seeded Don in 2018 and top-seeded Calderon in 2020.
Sandwiched between those two playoff trips was the absolute rock bottom. In 2019, Colby won just three games while averaging only 1,154 points per game, the fourth-lowest scoring average of the decade.
Fortunately, fantasy football offers something few sports can: complete reinvention. Every September, everyone starts 0-0.
Beginning in 2022, Colby rediscovered the art of winning. He earned the No. 4 seed before steamrolling through the playoffs, scoring at least 1,500 points in all three postseason games. He demolished fifth-seeded Michael, 1,845-1,310, then knocked off third-seeded Burrier, 1,501-1,300, before capturing his first championship with a 1,975-1,256 beatdown of Neatock.
The following season, Mr. Hall authored one of the greatest title defenses in league history. He won 11 games, averaged 1,553 points per game, claimed the No. 1 seed, and captured the scoring title. While his playoff run wasn’t quite as dominant statistically, it was just as effective. He cruised past eighth-seeded Eric and seventh-seeded Matt before defeating third-seeded Michael by 100 points to secure back-to-back championships.
Since then, Colby has struggled a bit to recapture that magic. He has continued reaching the playoffs and even extended his postseason winning streak to nine straight games in 2024, tied for the longest in league history, before finally falling in the semifinals.
Still, he’s followed those championship seasons with back-to-back 6-8 campaigns, meaning seven of his last ten seasons have ended with a losing record. That’s a remarkable number for someone landing fifth in these rankings.
Over the decade, Colby owns a 63-72 regular-season record (7th), a solid 7-4 playoff record (3rd), and a 72-77 overall mark (7th). He’s reached the playoffs in six of the last ten seasons, tied for the eighth-highest postseason rate, while averaging 1,378 points per game, tied with Eric for fifth-best.
His average finish in the standings is exactly 7.00 (7th), while his average finish in points is 5.90 (tied for 5th).
That 1.10-place gap between where he finished in the standings and where he ranked in scoring is important context. That’s the largest gap in the league over the past decade. In other words, no one has consistently been punished by the schedule quite like Colby Hall.
Need proof? His opponents have averaged 1,406 points per game over the last ten seasons, which is the highest opponent scoring average anyone has faced.
So how do you rank a man like that? Seven losing seasons say he’s been mediocre. Two championships say he’s been elite. The numbers suggest the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Colby spent half the decade getting punched in the face, then spent the other half reminding everyone what happens when the fantasy gods finally stop scheduling the league’s highest scorer against him every Sunday.