The Football Hall of Fame was founded in Canton, Ohio on September 7, 1963 with 17 players being part of the first batch of inductees. Nearly all the inductees have, at some time or the other, spent a part of their professional career playing in the NFL. It is noteworthy to mention that most of the inductees are from the Chicago Bears!
Because the American Professional Football Association was founded in Canton in 1920, the Hall of Fame was located there. A team which was successful during the early stages of the league were the (now inactive) Canton Bulldogs. This also turned out to be another reason for the Hall of Fame to be opened in Canton.
The board of Selectors are solely responsible for selecting the enshrinees. The Board comprises of 44 people, most of whom are sportswriters. In most cases, the rep is someone who contributes to one of the main newspapers in the city. On the other hand, 11 secret delegates are also present. Other than the Pro Football Writers of America representative, all of the other people who are appointed have no specific term and their terms are ended only if they die, retire or resign. The PFWA representative alone is given a two-year term.
To be nominated to the hall of fame, a player or coach must have crossed the five year milestone since retirement. Anyone else (contributor) can be selected without any time restriction.
Fans can nominate players, coaches or contributors of their choice by sending a latter to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The committee which is appointed to evaluate potential candidates then goes through a poll 3 times through mail and the list is narrowed down to 25 semifinalists. In November, after the three polls, the committee brings it down to 15 people.
Nine of the Selection Committee members will also serve on the “Seniors Committee” which is a subcommittee aiming to evaluate candidates who ended their careers at least 25 years ago. Two candidates are selected from this batch and added on to make up the last ballot of 17 members.
A daily meeting is held by the Selection Committee every day before a Superbowl game to elect a new set. In order to get elected, the finalist must gain a minimal of 80% of support by way of the selectors. If there aren’t any candidates who don’t get 80%, then the top 4 will get a place that year. However, if the 80% target is hit by more than 7 people, only 7 people highest in the ranking will be selected.
The first full weekend in August will see the induction ceremony. In Canton, a community festival will be held in advance of the induction ceremony. The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game which is an annual NFL pre-season exhibition game is held the day after the induction ceremony. |
