Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports

hall of fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

and

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada. Dedicated to the history of

sports in Canada Sports in Canada consist of a wide variety of games. The roots of organized sports in Canada date back to the 1770s, culminating in the development and popularization of the major professional games of ice hockey, lacrosse, basketball, baseball ...

, it serves as a

and museum for accomplished Canadian athletes, and sports builders and officials. Established in 1955, the organization inducted its first class of hall of famers, and opened a museum to the public that year. The museum was originally located at

Exhibition Place Exhibition Place is a publicly owned mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The site includes exhibit, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. In 1957, the hall of fame moved to another facility at Exhibition Place, sharing the space with the

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

. A new building to house the two halls of fame was later built at Exhibition Place in 1961. The two halls of fame continued to share facilities until 1993, when the Hockey Hall of Fame moved to a different location. Canada's Sports Hall of Fame became the building's sole occupant until it was closed in 2006 to make way for

BMO Field BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which is home to Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Constructed on the site of the former Exhibit ...

. The organization continued to induct honourees to its hall of fame, although a new facility to house its museum was not completed until 2011. The facility was opened at

Canada Olympic Park Canada Olympic Park (COP), formerly known as Paskapoo Ski Hill, is a ski hill and multi-purpose training and competition facility located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, owned and operated by WinSport. It is currently used both for high performance at ...

in Calgary, and houses the organization's offices and hall of fame museum. As of 2022, there were 668 inductees into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, categorized either as athletes, or as builders of the sport. Inductees are nominated by the Canadian public, though are ultimately selected by the organization's selection committee. In addition to inductions into its hall of fame, the organization has also conferred awards for accomplishments in sport, and in the larger community.

History

Efforts to create a national sports hall of fame were spurred by Harry Price, the chairman of the sports committee of the

Canadian National Exhibition The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Canadian Labour Day, ...

, who began to travel across Canada in 1947 to gather support for a museum and hall of fame. The hall of fame museum was formally opened on 24 August 1955, at

Stanley Barracks New Fort York, later the Stanley Barracks, is a former British and Canadian military base in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It was built in 1840–1841 to replace Toronto's original Fort York at the mouth of Ga ...

. In 1957, the hall of fame was relocated to the Press Building in Exhibition Place, sharing the facilities with the

. After the Hockey Hall of Fame announced it would build a new museum and hall of fame building at Exhibition Place in 1958, it extended an invitation to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame to move into its new facility. The Hall of Fame building was officially opened on 1 May 1961, with Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, and the Hockey Hall of Fame as its occupants. Canada's Hall of Fame would share the same building with the Hockey Hall of Fame until 1993, when the Hockey Hall of Fame moved into Brookfield Place in

downtown Toronto Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Stre ...

. The Hockey Hall of Fames' move to downtown Toronto led to a decline in attendance at Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in the late 1990s, resulting in plans to move sports hall of fame to

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. However, the federal government cancelled those plans in 1999. Canada's Sports Hall of Fame closed its museum to the public in 2006, with the building demolished to make way for

. The organization placed its collections in storage at Stanley Barracks, until a new facility to house the museum was completed. In 2008, the hall of fame's board of governors announced a national bid for a new permanent location for the museum. Nine cities submitted bids to host the museum, although the city of

was eventually selected. Constructed at

, funding was provided by the federal government, provincial, and municipal government; in addition to private funds. The federal government contributed C$15 million to the construction budget, whereas the provincial government contributed C$10 million, and the municipal government contributing C$5 million. Canada's Sports Hall of Fame was tasked with raising an additional C$20 million to help pay operational expenses. The building opened to the public on 1 July 2011. In 2019, the hall of fame introduced the People's Choice Award, to recognize an individual sport champion who also contributes to charities and local communities. The inaugural winner of the award was champion golfer and 9-time winner on the

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...

Brooke Henderson Brooke Mackenzie Henderson (born 10 September 1997) is a Canadian professional golfer on the LPGA Tour. Henderson was named the Canadian Press female athlete of the year for 2015, 2017 and 2018. She won her first major at age 18 in 2016 at the ...

. In the same year, the organization also introduced the Order of Sport Award, which served as a physical award for being inductee to the hall of fame.

Building

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (1) (31734938104)

The hall of fame and museum building is located Canada Olympic Road, at

, a ski hill and multi-purpose training and competition facility in Calgary. The museum was formerly located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, before it relocated to a new permanent facility in Calgary. Completed in 2011, Canada's Hall of Fame building was designed by

Stantec Stantec Inc. is an international professional services company in the design and consulting industry. The company was founded in 1954, as ''D. R. Stanley Associates'' in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Stantec provides professional consulting servi ...

, on behalf of CANA Construction, the project manager and design-lead for the museum. The exterior facade with its

cantilevered A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...

structure, was designed to mimic the elevated platforms where athletes receive their medals. The building colour of red and white was taken from the colours of the

flag of Canada The national flag of Canada (french: le Drapeau national du Canada), often simply referred to as the Canadian flag or, unofficially, as the Maple Leaf or ' (; ), consists of a red field with a white square at its centre in the ratio of , in ...

. The structure was designed to be a

sustainable building Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from planni ...

, and received LEED Silver certification. The interior of the building is made of three components, the museum and exhibition halls, the organization's office space, and storage space for the museum's collections. All components of the building are connected through a -storey atrium.

Museum

The museum and exhibit hall was purposely designed on the upper level of the building, with the upper level having more floor area than the floor below it. The museum space takes up approximately of the building's floor space. The upper level is perched on the glass and steel structure, and cantilevers above the lower floor, creating the illusion that the upper level was floating. The cantilevered area also holds exhibits on individual sports. Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (3) (31766900443)

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (3) (31766900443)

The museum space features twelve galleries, a theatre, and interactive exhibits on the hall of fame's inductees, and Canadian sport. The museum's twelve themed galleries located on various levels, are separated by a "series of bays". The exhibits are designed to circulate around the museum's central atrium or the "Grand Hall," which houses six national trophy exhibits. The design of the museum exhibits was done by

Cambridge Seven Associates Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc. (stylized as CambridgeSeven, and sometimes as C7A) is an American architecture firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Buildings designed by the firm have included academic, museum, exhibit, hospitality, transpo ...

. The museum's collections includes over 60,000 photographs, and 100,000 artifacts.

Inductees

As of November 2019, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame had over 670 inductees, categorized either as athletes or builders of the sport. Beginning with the induction of the 2019 class of hall of famers, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame began to issue the Order of Sport award to inductees, as a physical token of their induction into the hall of fame. Hall of famers that were inducted prior to 2019 were all retroactively made "peers" of the order, upon its creation. Nominations for inductees are accepted from the Canadian public throughout the year. Athletes nominated are required to have been retired for at least four years, although builders may be nominated when they are still active in their careers. Animals and inanimate objects may be considered for induction, although their nomination requires the approval of the Hall's Board of Governors. A new group of inductees has been introduced into Canada's Hall of Fame annually since its inception in 1955. The annual election of nominees is chosen through a selection committee of ten to 16 people.

Canadian sport legends class

On June 17, 2015, the Hall of Fame introduced the Sport Legends class of inductees, made up of athletes whose careers occurred before 1955. The creation of the Sport Legend class was undertaken in commemoration of the

150th anniversary of Canada The 150th anniversary of Canada, also known as the 150th anniversary of Confederation and promoted by the Canadian government as Canada 150, occurred in 2017 as Canada marked the sesquicentennial of Canadian Confederation. Planning Major pl ...

. Athletes * George Burleigh * William Cecil Billy Christmas *

Alex Decoteau Alexander Wuttunee Decoteau (November 19, 1887 – October 30, 1917), was a Cree Canadian track and field athlete, police officer and soldier. A member of the Red Pheasant First Nation, he joined the Edmonton Police in 1911 becoming the first I ...

* Carol Ann Duthie *

Alfred Cam Ecclestone Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *'' Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interl ...

Larry Gains Lawrence Samuel "Larry" Gains (12 December 1900 – 26 July 1983) was a Black Canadian heavyweight boxer who was champion of Canada and the British Empire. One of the top heavyweights of his era, he was denied the opportunity to become World Ch ...

Bob Goldham Robert John "Golden Boy" Goldham (May 12, 1922 – September 6, 1991) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman and broadcaster. He played two seasons for the Toronto Marlboros earning the name "Golden Boy". He was later called the "Second Goalie" be ...

* Gerald Gratton * Robina Higgins Haight * Barbara Howard * Bill Isaacs *

Joe Keeper Joseph Benjamin Keeper (January 17, 1886 – September 29, 1971) was a Canadian long-distance runner, and a member of the 1912 Canadian Olympic team. Early and personal life Joseph Benjamin Keeper, a member of the Norway House Cree Nation, w ...

* Johnny Loaring * Harry Xul-si-malt Manson * Vincent McIntyre * Robert McLeod *

Aileen Meagher Aileen Aletha Meagher (November 26, 1910 – August 2, 1987) was a Canadian athlete who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics, sharing bronze in the 4×100 metres event. She was also a painter. Life She was born and died in Halifax, Nova Scotia ...

* Albert Murray *

Charles Murray Charles Murray may refer to: Politicians *Charles Murray, 1st Earl of Dunmore (1661–1710), British peer *Charles Murray (author and diplomat) (1806–1895), British author and diplomat *Charles Murray, 7th Earl of Dunmore (1841–1907), Scotti ...

* Alf Philips * Robert Pirie *

Robert Powell Robert Powell (; born 1 June 1944) is an English actor who is known for the title roles in ''Mahler'' (1974) and '' Jesus of Nazareth'' (1977), and for his portrayal of secret agent Richard Hannay in '' The Thirty Nine Steps'' (1978) and its ...

Harvey Pulford Ernest Harvey Pulford (April 22, 1875 – October 31, 1940) was a Canadian athlete at the turn of the twentieth century, winning national championships in ice hockey, lacrosse, football, boxing, paddling and rowing. A highly regarded defenceman w ...

* Robert Scotty Rankine *

Hilda Ranscombe Hilda Doris Ranscombe (September 3, 1913 – August 25, 1998) was a Canadian ice hockey player. She served for ten seasons as the Preston Rivulettes captain, and led the team to ten consecutive Ladies Ontario Hockey Association championships, f ...

* Eileen Whalley Richards *

Winnie Roach-Leuszler Winnifred "Winnie" Frances Roach-Leuszler, O.Ont (February 3, 1926 – May 1, 2004) was a Canadian long distance swimmer. A long distance swimmer of international acclaim, she started swimming when she as a child and later became the first Ca ...

* Mary Rose Thacker * Elizabeth Whittall * Rhona and Rhoda Wurtele Builders *

Earl Bascom Earl Wesley Bascom (June 19, 1906 – August 28, 1995) was an American painter, printmaker, sculptor, cowboy, rodeo performer, inventor, and Hollywood actor. Raised in Canada, he portrayed in works of fine art his own experiences of cowboying ...

Frank Calder Frank Sellick Calder (November 17, 1877 – February 4, 1943) was a British-born Canadian ice hockey executive, journalist, and athlete. Calder was the first president of the National Hockey League (NHL), from 1917 until his death in 1943. He ...

* James Creighton *

Norton Crow Norton may refer to: Places Norton, meaning 'north settlement' in Old English, is a common place name. Places named Norton include: Canada *Rural Municipality of Norton No. 69, Saskatchewan *Norton Parish, New Brunswick **Norton, New Brunswick, a ...

* Sidney Dawes * Jan Eisenhardt * Alexandrine Gibb * Cecil Grenier * Phyllis Griffiths *

Frederick James Heather Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederi ...

Frank Read Frank Henry Read (born 6 October 1934) is a British physicist. He is an Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Manchester. Research Read is known for his experimental studies of electron collisions with atoms and molecules, for a ...

* Melville Marks "Bobby" Robinson *

William Shuttleworth William Shuttleworth (1834 – March 3, 1903) was a Canadian baseball player and executive. He helped to develop the Young Canadians of Hamilton, the first known organized Canadian baseball team, in 1854, and was the club's president by 1860. S ...

* Henry Sotvedt *

Stanley Thompson Stanley Thompson (September 18, 1893 – January 4, 1953) was a Canadian golf course architect, and a high-standard amateur golfer. He was a co-founder of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. Early life, family, education, and mili ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Canada's Sports Hall Of Fame 1955 establishments in Alberta All-sports halls of fame Awards established in 1955 Canadian sports trophies and awards Halls of fame in Canada Museums in Calgary Sport in Calgary Sports museums in Canada