Pro Football Hall of Fame
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The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the Hall of Fame of the National Football League (NFL). It opened in Canton, Ohio, United States, on September 7, 1963 with 17 charter inductees.[1] Through 2007, all but one of the inductees played some part of their pro career in the NFL. The lone exception is Buffalo Bills guard Billy Shaw, who played his entire career in the American Football League (AFL) prior to the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger. The Chicago Bears have the most Hall of Famers in the league at 26.
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[edit] History
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Canton was primarily selected as the location for the Hall of Fame for three reasons:[1] First, the NFL, then known as the American Professional Football Association, was founded in Canton in 1920. Second, the now-defunct Canton Bulldogs, were a successful NFL team based in Canton during the first few years of the league. And finally, the community of Canton successfully lobbied to the NFL to have the Hall built in their city.
[edit] Selection process
[edit] Board of Selectors
Enshrinees are selected by a 39-member committee, largely made up of sportswriters, officially known as the Board of Selectors.[2]
The Board consists of one media representative from each NFL city, with two from New York (as two NFL teams, the Giants and the Jets, play there). Usually, the representative is a beat writer for the major newspaper in that city, although this is not always the case; for instance, the Atlanta Falcons are represented by ESPN.com senior writer Len Pasquarelli (who lives in Atlanta and formerly wrote for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution), while the Seattle Seahawks' vote belongs to Pasquarelli's ESPN.com colleague, John Clayton (a former Seahawks beat writer for the Seattle Times who still lives in Seattle).
There are also six at-large delegates (usually cities that lose NFL teams keep representation on the board; Los Angeles is the only current city to have lost an NFL team and not been granted an expansion team), and one representative from the Pro Football Writers of America. Except for the PFWA representative, who is appointed to a two-year term, all other appointments are open-ended and terminated only by death, retirement, or resignation.
[edit] Voting procedure
To be eligible for the nominating process, a player must have been retired at least five years, and a coach must be retired. Any other contributor such as a team owner or executive can be elected at any time.[3]
Fans may nominate any player, coach or contributor by simply writing to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Selection Committee is then polled three times by mail to eventually narrow the list to 25 semifinalists: once in March, one in September, and one in October. In November, the committee then selects 15 finalists by mail balloting.
Nine members of the Selection Committee also serve as a subcommittee known as the Seniors Committee to screen candidates who finished their careers 25 or more years prior.[3] The Seniors Committee then adds two finalists from prior to the modern era, making a final ballot of 17.
The Selection Committee then meets the day before each Super Bowl game to elect a new class. To be elected, a finalist must receive at least 80 percent support from the Board, with at least three, but no more than six, candidates being elected annually.
[edit] Induction ceremony
The induction ceremony is usually held the first full weekend in August. A community festival is held throughout the week in Canton leading up to the induction ceremonies. Also, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, an annual NFL pre-season exhibition game, is held the day after the induction ceremony.
Enshrinees do not go into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of a certain team. Rather, all of an inductee's affiliations are listed equally.[3] While the Baseball Hall of Fame plaques depict each of their inductees wearing a particular club's cap, the bust sculptures of each Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee make no reference to any specific team.
[edit] Inductees
[edit] See also
- American football
- National Football League
- American Football League
- Canadian Football League
- Canadian Football Hall of Fame
- List of American football players
- Pro Football Hall of Fame Game
[edit] References
- ^ a b HOF opened on Sept. 7, 1963. Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved on January 29, 2007.
- ^ Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Process. Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved on January 29, 2007.
- ^ a b c Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Process FAQ. Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved on January 29, 2007.
