In 1937, thanks to the Works Progress Administration instituted by President Franklin Roosevelt, Chase found temporary work. He handled tasks as a plumber and carpenter's helper. More financial help, badly needed by Chase at this point in his life, came from California's State Relief Administration. One of Hal Chase's last public appearance was at a softball game in the town of Williams, Arizona in 1939. Chase's diet began to consist mostly of alcohol and his health was eventually destroyed. In 1941, he was stricken with beriberi, a disease caused by vitamin defeceincy. He also suffered from kidney, liver, and heart ailments, all exacerbated by the gallons of alcohol he had consumed. Around this time, he consented to an interview by the Sporting News. It is not surprising that the magazine sought him out. In his later years, Chase was just as enigmatic and interesting a character as he was during his playing days. He spoke with typical candidness and intellect on many issues. Chase discussed the subjective label of "great" being attached to baseball players throughout the years. He presented a totally logical argument and one that, considering the changes that baseball has undergone since the interview, is even more prophetic when read today...

I could name a hundred great players, and in the judgment of my neighbor, who probably knows as much about it as I do, I'd be wrong on every one of them. Times and conditions change, in baseball as in everything else. There are no constants. There is no standard for measuring baseball abilities. There are so many factors involved in the term "greatness" that it's with difficulty that we can even define it. Babe Ruth, for example, was great, in a certain sense of the term. Was he necessarily a greater player than, say Joe Jackson or Joe DiMaggio or Ty Cobb ? Or any one of dozens of others ? We can't decide the matter by the record books.