The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the
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 ...
for
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
, located in
Canton, Ohio
Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...
. Opened on September 7, ,
the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coaches, officials, franchise owners, and front-office personnel, almost all of whom made their primary contributions to the game in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL).
As of the Class of 2022, there are a total of 362 members of the Hall of Fame.
Between four and eight new inductees are normally enshrined every year. For the 2020 class, a 20-person group consisting of five modern-era players and an additional 15 members, known as the "Centennial Slate", were elected to the Hall of Fame to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the NFL.
The
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
have the
most inductees, with 30 (36, including players with minor portion of their career with team).
History
![Football Hall of Fame](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Football_Hall_of_Fame.JPG)
The city of Canton successfully lobbied the NFL to have the Hall of Fame built and has cited three reasons. First, the NFL was founded in Canton on September 17, ,
(at that time it was known as the
American Professional Football Association
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the maj ...
). Second, the now-defunct
Canton Bulldogs
The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football Leag ...
were a successful pro football team and the NFL's first repeat
champion
A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...
(in
1922
Events
January
* January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes.
* January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...
and
1923
Events
January–February
* January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory).
* January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...
). Third, the Canton community held a fundraising effort that garnered nearly $400,000 () to get the Hall of Fame built.
Groundbreaking
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are o ...
for the building was held on August 11, ,
and the Hall of Fame was opened to the public on September 7, .
The original building contained just two rooms, and of interior space.
In April , ground was broken for the first of many expansions. This first expansion cost
$620,000, and was completed on May 10, .
The size was increased to by adding another room. The pro shop opened with this expansion. This was also an important milestone for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as yearly attendance passed the 200,000 mark for the first time. This was at least in some part due to the increase in popularity of professional football caused by the advent of the
American Football League
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
and its success in the final two
AFL-NFL World Championship games.
![PFootballHall of fame original dome entrance](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/PFootballHall_of_fame_original_dome_entrance.jpg)
In November 1977, work began on another expansion project, costing $1,200,000. It was completed in November 1978, enlarging the gift shop and research library, while doubling the size of the theater. The total size of the hall was now , more than 2.5 times the original size.
The building remained largely unchanged until July 1993. The Hall then announced yet another expansion, costing $9,200,000, and adding a fifth room. This expansion was completed on October 1, 1995,
and increased the building's size to . The most notable addition was the GameDay Stadium, which shows an
NFL Films
NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries for and about the NFL, as well as ot ...
production on a
Cinemascope
CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...
screen.
In 2013, the Hall of Fame completed its largest expansion and renovation to date; the total size of the hall is now .
Hall of Fame Village
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
, an estimated $900 million expansion project adjacent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, has completed Phase I of construction; preparations for beginning Phase II are currently underway.
Executive directors or presidents
*Dick McCann (April 4, 1962 – November 1967)
*
Dick Gallagher (April 1968 – December 31, 1975)
*
Pete Elliott
Peter R. Elliott (September 29, 1926 – January 4, 2013) was an American football player and coach. Elliott served as the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (1956), the University of California, Berkeley (1957–1959), ...
(February 1979 – October 31, 1996)
*John Bankert (November 1, 1996 – December 31, 2005)
*Steve Perry (April 24, 2006 – January 2014)
*
David Baker (January 6, 2014 – October 16, 2021)
*Jim Porter (2021 – present)
Inductees
![Pro Football hall of Fame inductee display](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Pro_Football_hall_of_Fame_inductee_display.jpg)
Through 2022, all players in the Hall, except
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
guard
Billy Shaw
William Lewis Shaw (born December 15, 1938) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive guard for the Buffalo Bills in the American Football League (AFL). After playing college football with the Georgia Tech Yellow Ja ...
, played at least some part of their professional career in the NFL; Shaw played his entire career in the
American Football League
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
(AFL) prior to the 1970
AFL–NFL merger
The AFL–NFL merger was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). It paved the way for the combined league, w ...
.
Though several Hall of Famers have had AFL,
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
,
World Football League
The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...
,
United States Football League
The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
,
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
and/or
Indoor Football League
The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams amon ...
experience, and there is a division of the Hall devoted to alternative leagues such as these, to this point no player, coach or contributor have made the Hall without having made significant contributions to either the NFL, AFL, or
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...
.
For CFL stars, there is a corresponding
Canadian Football Hall of Fame
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...
; only one player,
Warren Moon
Harold Warren Moon (born November 18, 1956) is an American former football quarterback who played professionally for 23 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Edmonto ...
, and two coaches,
Bud Grant
Harry Peter "Bud" Grant Jr. (born May 20, 1927) is a former head coach and player of American football, Canadian football, and a former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Grant served as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings ...
and
Marv Levy
Marvin Daniel Levy (; born August 3, 1925) is an American former football coach and executive who was a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for seventeen seasons. He spent most of his head coaching career with the Buffalo Bills, lea ...
, are enshrined in both halls.
Again for the Arena Football League, there is also a corresponding
Arena Football Hall of Fame
The Arena Football Hall of Fame is the official Hall of Fame of the Arena Football League (AFL). The inaugural class was announced in 1998 and the Hall was not formally organized until 2011. Prior to 2011, there were four classes: 1998–200 ...
; similarly, only one player,
Kurt Warner
Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, which saw him ascend fr ...
, has been enshrined into both halls. The
Indoor Football League
The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams amon ...
, in which
Terrell Owens
Terrell Eldorado Owens (; born December 7, 1973), nicknamed T.O., is an American football wide receiver for the Knights of Degen of Fan Controlled Football (FCF). He previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. Regar ...
played one season, has also established a
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 ...
.
The
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
have the most Hall of Famers among the league's franchises with either 37 or 30 enshrinees depending on whether players that only played a small portion of their careers with the team are counted.
Selection process
Selection Committee
Enshrinees are selected by a 49-person committee, largely made up of media members, officially known as the Selection Committee.
Each city that has a current NFL team sends one representative from the local media to the committee; a city with more than one franchise sends one representative for each franchise.
There are also 15 at-large delegates, including one representative from the
Pro Football Writers Association
The Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), sometimes known as Pro Football Writers Association, is an organization that purports to be " heofficial voice of pro football writers, promoting and fighting for access to NFL personnel to best serve ...
. Except for the PFWA representative, who is appointed to a two-year term, all other appointments are open-ended, and terminated only by death, incapacitation, retirement, or resignation.
Voting procedure
![Hall Fame Air](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Hall_Fame_Air.JPG)
To be eligible for the nominating process, a player or coach must have been retired for at least five years; any other contributor such as a team owner or executive can be voted in at any time.
Fans may nominate any player, coach or contributor by simply writing via letter or email to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Selection Committee is then polled three times by mail (once in March, once in September, and once in October) to eventually narrow the list to 25 semifinalists. In November, the committee then selects 15 finalists by mail balloting.
A Seniors and Contributors Committee, subcommittees of the overall Selection Committee, nominate Seniors (those players who completed their careers more than 25 years ago) and Contributors (individuals who made contributions to the game in areas other than playing or coaching). The Seniors Committee and Contributors Committee add one or two finalist(s) on alternating years, which makes a final ballot of 18 finalists under consideration by the full committee each year. Committee members are instructed to only consider a candidate's professional football contributions and to disregard all other factors.
The Selection Committee then meets on "Selection Saturday", the day before each
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
game to elect a new class. To be elected, a finalist must receive at least 80% support from the Board. At least four, but no more than eight, candidates are elected annually.
2020 Centennial Slate
In 2020, a special Blue-Ribbon Panel selected an additional 15 new members, known as the Centennial Slate, to be inducted into the Hall of Fame to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the NFL. Among these 15 members, ten would be seniors. On January 11, during the weekend of the NFL divisional playoffs, Hall of Fame president
David Baker went on the set of ''
The NFL Today
''The NFL Today'' is an American football television program on CBS that serves as the pre-game show for the network's National Football League (NFL) game telecasts under the ''NFL on CBS'' brand. The program features commentary on the latest new ...
'' to personally tell
Bill Cowher
William Laird Cowher (born May 8, 1957) is an American sports analyst, former football player and coach. Following a six-year playing career as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), he served as a head coach in the NFL for 15 seas ...
, who was working as an analyst on that pregame show, that he was selected as one of the members of the Centennial Slate.
One day later, Baker went on the set of ''
Fox NFL Sunday
''Fox NFL Sunday'' is an American sports television program broadcast on the Fox television network. The show debuted on September 4, 1994, and serves as the pre-game show for the network's National Football League (NFL) game telecasts under the ...
'' to inform
Jimmy Johnson, working as an analyst on Fox's studio show, that he was also selected. The rest of the Centennial Slate members were revealed on January 15.
The remaining 13 members of the Centennial Slate elected to the Hall of Fame in 2020 are:
Jim Covert
James Paul "Jimbo" Covert (born March 22, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons during the 1980s and early 1990s. Covert played college foot ...
,
Winston Hill
Winston Cordell Hill (October 23, 1941 – April 26, 2016) was an American professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL), primarily with the New York Jets. ...
,
Harold Carmichael
Lee Harold Carmichael (born September 22, 1949) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles (1971–1983) and one season for ...
,
Duke Slater
Frederick Wayman "Duke" Slater (December 9, 1898 – August 14, 1966) was an American football player and judge. He was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 and was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Centennial Class in ...
,
Ed Sprinkle
Edward Alexander Sprinkle (September 3, 1923 – July 28, 2014) was an American professional football player for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He was known to many as "The Meanest Man in Pro Football" and was nicknamed ...
,
Steve Sabol
Stephen Douglas Sabol (October 2, 1942September 18, 2012) was an American filmmaker. He was the president and one of the founders of NFL Films, along with his father Ed. He was also a widely exhibited visual artist.
Sabol was born in Mooresto ...
,
Alex Karras
Alexander George Karras (July 15, 1935 – October 10, 2012) was an American football player, professional wrestler, sportscaster, and actor. He was a four-time Pro Bowl player with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), ...
,
Bobby Dillon
Bobby Dan Dillon (February 23, 1930 – August 22, 2019) was an American professional football player in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a safety and spent his entire eight-year career with the Green Bay Packers.
Dillon was a ...
,
Donnie Shell
Donnie Shell (born August 26, 1952) is a former American Football strong safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League between 1974 and 1987. Shell was a member of the Steelers famed Steel Curtain defense in the 1970s.
Shel ...
,
George Young,
Cliff Harris
Clifford Allen Harris (born November 12, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. A Pro Football Hall of Famer, he appeared in five Sup ...
,
Mac Speedie
Mac Curtis Speedie (January 12, 1920 – March 5, 1993) was an American football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL) for seven years before joining the Saskatc ...
, and former
NFL Commissioner
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the maj ...
Paul Tagliabue
Paul John Tagliabue (; born November 24, 1940) is an American lawyer who was the History of the NFL Commissioner, commissioner of the National Football League (NFL). He took the position in 1989 NFL season, 1989 and served until September 1, 2006 ...
.
They were enshrined in 2021 due to COVID-19, but are still considered part of the Centennial Class of 2020.
Enshrinement ceremony
![Hall of Fame Football (1987](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Hall_of_Fame_Football_%281987.572.1%29.jpg)
The enshrinement ceremony is the main event of the annual ''Enshrinement Week Powered by Johnson Controls'' that kicks off every NFL season. The celebration is held in Canton, throughout the week surrounding the enshrinement ceremony.
All members of the Hall of Fame are invited to attend the annual ceremony.
Enshrinees do not go into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of a certain team. Rather, all of an enshrinee's affiliations are listed equally. While the
Baseball Hall of Fame
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
plaques generally depict each of their inductees wearing a particular club's cap (with a few exceptions, such as
Catfish Hunter
James Augustus Hunter (April 8, 1946 – September 9, 1999), nicknamed "Catfish", was a professional baseball player in Major League Baseball (MLB). From to , he was a pitcher for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. Hunter wa ...
and
Greg Maddux
Gregory Alan Maddux (born April 14, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four teams. Maddux is best known for his accomplishments while playing for the Atlanta Braves ...
), the bust sculptures of each Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee make no reference to any specific team. In addition to the bust that goes on permanent display at the Hall of Fame, inductees receive a distinctive Gold Jacket, and previous inductees nearly always wear theirs when participating at the new inductee ceremonies.
Previous induction ceremonies were held during the next day (Sunday from 1999–2005, Saturday in 2006), situated on the steps of the Hall of Fame building.
Starting in 2002, the ceremony was moved to Fawcett Stadium (now
Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium
Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, formerly Fawcett Stadium, is a football stadium and entertainment complex in Canton, Ohio. It is a major component of ''Hall of Fame Village'', located adjacent to the grounds of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The ...
), where it was held from 1963 to 1965. Since 2007, the enshrinement ceremony has been held on the Saturday night, since 2017 two days after the Hall of Fame Game. In 2022, the ceremony was moved to noon ET.
Hall of Fame Game
The Hall of Fame Game, the annual NFL preseason opener, is played in
Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium
Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, formerly Fawcett Stadium, is a football stadium and entertainment complex in Canton, Ohio. It is a major component of ''Hall of Fame Village'', located adjacent to the grounds of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The ...
at Hall of Fame Village in
Canton, Ohio
Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...
. In 2017, the Hall of Fame Game was held for the first time on Thursday night. The preseason classic kicks off Enshrinement Week Powered by
Johnson Controls
Johnson Controls International is an American
Irish-domiciled multinational conglomerate headquartered in Cork, Ireland, that produces fire, HVAC, and security equipment for buildings. As of mid-2019, it employed 105,000 people in around 2,0 ...
and officially kicks off the
NFL preseason
The National Football League preseason is the period each year during which NFL teams play several not-for-the-record exhibition games before the actual "regular" season starts. Beginning with the featured Pro Football Hall of Fame game in early ...
.
Black College Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame museum includes a permanent exhibit recognizing the inductees of the
Black College Football Hall of Fame
The Black College Football Hall of Fame (BCFHOF) is an American hall of fame for college football players, coaches and contributors from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). It was founded in 2009 in Atlanta, centrally located ...
. The two organizations partnered in 2016, also creating the
Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic
The Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic is a college football kickoff game that has been played annually since 2019 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The game features a matchup of two historically black colleges and u ...
played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Ralph Hay Pioneer Award
The Ralph Hay Pioneer Award is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
award given by the Pro Football Hall of Fame periodically to an individual who has made significant and innovative contributions to professional football. The award is named after
Canton Bulldogs
The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football Leag ...
owner and
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
founder and chief organizer
Ralph Hay
Ralph Edward Hay (January 12, 1891July 29, 1944) was the owner of the Canton Bulldogs from 1918 through the 1922 season. However, he is mostly recognized for organizing the first meeting of teams that would later form the American Professional Fo ...
. It was originally called the Daniel F. Reeves Pioneer Award, named after
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
owner and hall of fame inductee
Dan Reeves
Daniel Edward Reeves (January 19, 1944 – January 1, 2022) was an American football running back and coach in the National Football League (NFL). During his 38 years in the NFL, Reeves participated in nine Super Bowls, the third most for an ...
. The award is the highest and the most prestigious honor given by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, other than enshrinement. As of 2022,
Steve Sabol
Stephen Douglas Sabol (October 2, 1942September 18, 2012) was an American filmmaker. He was the president and one of the founders of NFL Films, along with his father Ed. He was also a widely exhibited visual artist.
Sabol was born in Mooresto ...
,
Art McNally
Arthur Ignatius McNally (July 1, 1925 – January 1, 2023) was an American football executive who was director of officiating for the National Football League (NFL) from 1968 to 1991. Before becoming director of officiating—succeeding Mark ...
,
Marion Motley
Marion Motley (June 5, 1920 – June 27, 1999) was an American professional football player who was a halfback and linebacker for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). He was a le ...
and
Bill Willis
William Karnet Willis (October 5, 1921 – November 27, 2007) was an American football defensive tackle who played eight seasons for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL). ...
are the only people to receive the award and also become a Hall of Fame inductee.
Honorees
Criticism
![Pro Football Hall of Fame sign](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Pro_Football_Hall_of_Fame_sign.JPG)
The small number of candidates elected each year has helped foster what some perceive as an inequality of representation at certain positions or in certain categories of player, to the exclusion of defensive players in general (
defensive back
In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
s and outside
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
s in particular),
special teams
In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...
players,
wide receivers, and those from the "seniors" category. There has also been criticism that deserving players have been overlooked because they played most or all of their careers on poor teams.
In 2009, a ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' article criticized the Hall for not including
punter Ray Guy
William Ray Guy (December 22, 1949 – November 3, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a punter for the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). Guy was a first-team All-American selection ...
on its ballot, erroneously stating that the Hall did not have an inductee at the time representing the position
(
Yale Lary
Robert Yale Lary Sr. (November 24, 1930 – May 11, 2017) was an American football player, businessman, and politician.
He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979 and was also selected for the NFL 1950s All-Decade Team. He has al ...
, who played both as a safety and punter, had been inducted in 1979, while
Sammy Baugh
Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professional football player and coach. During his college and professional careers, he most notably played quarterback, but also played as a safety and punter. He ...
had also punted in addition to his quarterback play; the punter position was not specialized until
free substitution
Free substitution or rolling substitution is a rule in some sports that allows players to enter and leave the game for other players many times during the course of a game, generally during a time-out or other break in live play; and for coach ...
became widespread in the 1960s, and most punters until then also played another position). Guy was eventually inducted as part of the 2014 class for the Hall of Fame.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is unique among North American major league sports halls of fame in that
officials
An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...
have been generally excluded. Only two figures, both inducted for their work as supervisor or director of officiating as opposed to game officiating—1966 inductee
Hugh "Shorty" Ray and 2022 inductee
Art McNally
Arthur Ignatius McNally (July 1, 1925 – January 1, 2023) was an American football executive who was director of officiating for the National Football League (NFL) from 1968 to 1991. Before becoming director of officiating—succeeding Mark ...
—have been enshrined; McNally is the only inductee in the Hall to have experience as an in-game official.
The
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
,
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...
and
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 ...
have each inducted game officials as members.
Another prominent absence from the Hall is sports-journalist
Howard Cosell
Howard is an English language, English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (disambiguation), Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defe ...
, who has yet to either be awarded the
Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award
The Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, created in 1989 and named for the late longtime NFL commissioner, Pete Rozelle, is bestowed annually by the Pro Football Hall of Fame "for longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in profes ...
or even get fully inducted despite his well-known association with ''
Monday Night Football
''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...
''; an August 2010 ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' article hints that Cosell may have even been "blacklisted" by the NFL.
As the late 2010s approached, a number of controversial and polarizing figures began to reach eligibility for the Hall. For example,
Darren Sharper
Darren Mallory Sharper (born November 3, 1975) is an American convicted serial rapist and a former football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football at William & Mary and was selected ...
's career achievements make him a candidate for the Hall, but there is debate over whether he should be inducted due to his conviction on multiple rape and drug distribution charges after he retired.
Terrell Owens
Terrell Eldorado Owens (; born December 7, 1973), nicknamed T.O., is an American football wide receiver for the Knights of Degen of Fan Controlled Football (FCF). He previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. Regar ...
' exclusion from the Hall in his first two years of eligibility despite his strong individual statistics was a subject of public debate:
while Owens was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2018, he refused to attend the enshrinement ceremony.
See also
*
List of Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
The Pro Football Hall of Fame includes players, coaches, and contributors (e.g., owners, general managers and team or league officials) who have "made outstanding contributions to professional football". The charter class of seventeen was selected ...
*
Touchdown Club Charities Hall of Fame
*
Canadian Football Hall of Fame
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...
*
Arena Football Hall of Fame
The Arena Football Hall of Fame is the official Hall of Fame of the Arena Football League (AFL). The inaugural class was announced in 1998 and the Hall was not formally organized until 2011. Prior to 2011, there were four classes: 1998–200 ...
*
Indoor Football League Hall of Fame
Indoor(s) may refer to:
*the interior of a building
*Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality
*Built envi ...
*
Dick McCann Memorial Award
The Bill Nunn Jr. Award is bestowed annually by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) to a reporter for their "long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage". It is named after Bill Nunn Jr., who worked for 22 ...
—sometimes referred to as the "writer's wing" of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
*
Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award
The Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, created in 1989 and named for the late longtime NFL commissioner, Pete Rozelle, is bestowed annually by the Pro Football Hall of Fame "for longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in profes ...
*
John Bunn Award
The John Bunn Award—in full, the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award—is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and h ...
: the
Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and prese ...
's comparable award
*
Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award The Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award is an award presented by the National Baseball Hall of Fame
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. ...
: the
National Baseball Hall of Fame
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
's comparable award.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1963 establishments in Ohio
American football trophies and awards
Awards established in 1963
Buildings and structures in Canton, Ohio
Halls of fame in Ohio
Museums in Stark County, Ohio
Sports museums in Ohio
Tourist attractions in Canton, Ohio