Pro Football Hall of Fame - wikipedia Pro Football Hall of Fame This article 's lead section does not adequately summarize key points of its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. Please discuss this issue on the article 's talk page. ( March 2017 ) Pro Football Hall of Fame Location of Pro Football Hall of Fame Established 1963 Location 2121 George Halas Dr NW, Canton, Ohio Coordinates 40 ° 49 ′ 16 '' N 81 ° 23 ′ 52 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 40.82111 ° N 81.39778 ° W ﻿ / 40.82111 ; - 81.39778 Coordinates : 40 ° 49 ′ 16 '' N 81 ° 23 ′ 52 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 40.82111 ° N 81.39778 ° W ﻿ / 40.82111 ; - 81.39778 Type Professional sports hall of fame Visitors 191,943 ( 2010 ) President C. David Baker Website profootballhof.com The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. As of 2017, there are a total of 310 members of the Hall of Fame. Part of the American football series on History of American football Origins of American football Early history of American football First game Walter Camp First pro player First pro league Modern history of American football Close relations : Medieval football Old division football Rugby football Association football Canadian football Black players in professional American football Homosexuality in American football Concussions in American football Rugby union comparison Rugby league comparison Canadian football comparison Pro Football Hall of Fame College Football Hall of Fame Years in American football NFL season - by - season College football season - by - season American football Portal Contents 1 History 2 Inductees 2.1 Selection process 2.1. 1 Selection Committee 2.1. 2 Voting procedure 2.2 Enshrinement ceremony 3 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game 4 Criticism 5 See also 6 References 7 External links History Old entrance to The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio The community of Canton, Ohio successfully lobbied the NFL to have the Hall of Fame built in their city for two reasons : first, the NFL was founded in Canton in 1920 ( at that time it was known as the American Professional Football Association ) ; second, the now - defunct Canton Bulldogs were a successful NFL team based in Canton during the first few years of the league. Groundbreaking for the building was held on August 11, 1962. The original building contained just two rooms, and 19,000 square feet ( 1,800 m ) of interior space. In April 1970, ground was broken for the first of many expansions. This first expansion cost $ 620,000, and was completed in May 1971. The size was increased to 34,000 square feet ( 3,200 m ) 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 and its success in the final two AFL - NFL World Championship games. Inside the original structure in 2008. In November 1977, work began on another expansion project, costing US $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 50,500 square feet ( 4,690 m ), more than 2.5 times the original size. The building remained largely unchanged until July 1993. The Hall then announced yet another expansion, costing US $9,200,000, and adding a fifth room. This expansion was completed in October 1995. The building 's size was increased to 82,307 square feet ( 7,647 m ). The most notable addition was the GameDay Stadium, which shows an NFL Films production on a 20 - foot ( 6.1 m ) by 42 - foot ( 13 m ) Cinemascope screen. In July 2017, Hall of Fame President David Baker announced an $800 million expansion project leading up to the NFL 's 100th season in 2020. Inductees The Hall is made up of several sections, at heart is the display of inductees. Main article : List of Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Through 2017, all inductees except one, played some part of their professional 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 ). Though several Hall of Famers have had AFL, Canadian Football League, World Football League, United States Football League and Arena Football League experience, and there is a division of the Hall devoted to alternative leagues such as this, to this point no players have made the Hall without having made significant contributions to either the NFL, AFL or All - America Football Conference. For CFL stars, there is a parallel Canadian Football Hall of Fame ; only one player ( Warren Moon ) and one coach ( Bud Grant ) are in both halls. The Chicago Bears have the most Hall of Famers among the league 's franchises with 32 enshrinees. Selection process Selection committee For a more comprehensive list, see List of Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees § 2017 Finalists. Enshrinees are selected by a 46 - 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 a representative for each franchise. Usually, the representative is a beat writer for the major newspaper in that city, with some exceptions ; for instance, the Atlanta Falcons are represented by Len Pasquarelli ( who no longer writes for the Atlanta Journal - Constitution ), and the Jacksonville Jaguars are represented by WJXT sports director Sam Kouvaris. There are also 13 at - large delegates ( usually cities that lose NFL teams keep representation on the board ; this category currently comprises St. Louis, Missouri and San Diego, California ), and one representative from the Pro Football Writers Association. 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 Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium with the Hall of Fame in lower right 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 to the Pro Football Hall of Fame via letter or email. The Selection Committee is then polled three times by mail to eventually narrow the list to 25 semifinalists : once in March, once in September, and once 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 more than 25 years prior. The Seniors Committee then adds two finalists from that group which makes a final ballot of 17 nominees. Committee members are instructed to only consider a candidate 's professional football contributions and to disregard all other factors. 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 four, but no more than eight, candidates being elected annually. Once a contributor is inducted into the Hall, they can not be banished and remain an inductee forever. According to staff, 46 members of the hall have been voted in with 100 % of the vote ; the most recent one being Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers. Enshrinement ceremony A football signed by the 1974 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement class The enshrinement ceremony is usually held during the first full weekend in August. An enshrinement festival is held throughout the week in Canton leading up to the enshrinement 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 plaques generally depict each of their inductees wearing a particular club 's cap ( with a few exceptions, such as Catfish Hunter and Greg Maddux ), 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 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, where it was held from 1963 to 1965. Since 2007, the enshrinement ceremony has been held on the Saturday night before the Hall of Fame Game. Pro Football Hall of Fame game Main article : Pro Football Hall of Fame Game The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, an annual NFL preseason opener is held the day after the enshrinement ceremony and officially kicks off the NFL Preseason. Criticism The `` Other Leagues '' display includes the USFL ; inductee Jim Kelly 's jersey is in the foreground. The Pro Football Hall of Fame uses only media representatives to select inductees. This, along with its policy of inducting only a maximum of seven players a year ( six in certain years past ), with a current maximum of two `` senior '' candidates and five `` non-seniors, '' has been criticized by sports columnists, former players, and football fans. Such critics would like to see solutions such as expanding the number of selectors, rotating panel members on and off the selection committee, and allowing former players to participate in the voting. 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, with defensive players in general and defensive backs and outside linebackers in particular, special teams players, wide receivers, deserving players who primarily played on bad teams, and those from the `` seniors '' category, being slighted. This has included a 2009 New York Times article which criticized the Hall for not including punter Ray Guy on its ballot, also noting that the Hall did not have an inductee at the time representing the position. ( At least two inductees, Sammy Baugh and Yale Lary, punted in addition to playing other positions. ) Guy was eventually inducted as part of the 2014 class for the Hall of Fame. There has also been criticism that certain players get overlooked because their team underproduced during their careers. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is unique among North American major league sports halls of fame in that officials have generally been excluded from the Hall ; only one, 1966 inductee Hugh `` Shorty '' Ray, has been enshrined. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Hockey Hall of Fame have each inducted game officials as members. In part to rectify the lack of officials and other off - field contributors, the Hall of Fame added a `` Contributors '' committee beginning with the class of 2015, which will nominate officials, general managers, owners and other positions that have historically been overlooked by the committee at large. Another prominent absence from the Hall is sports - journalist Howard Cosell, who has yet to be awarded the Pete Rozelle Radio - Television Award despite his well - known association with Monday Night Football. An August 2010 Sports Illustrated article hints that Cosell may have even been `` blacklisted '' by the NFL. In 2015, the exclusion of Marvin Harrison from the yearly induction caused some to question the effect politics has on the induction process. Harrison ranks 3rd all - time in receptions, was selected to the Pro Bowl eight times among many other individual records. He was also named as the hardest receiver to cover by veteran corner backs Champ Bailey and Charles Tillman. The duo of Harrison and quarterback Peyton Manning also hold the record for most receptions, touchdowns, and yards between any quarterback and wide receiver combo. Critics argue the induction committee is allowing age and wait time to overshadow production. Harrison was inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2016. Pro Football Hall of Fame ( old entrance ). See also Touchdown Club Charities Hall of Fame Canadian Football Hall of Fame Arena Football Hall of Fame Dick McCann Memorial Award -- sometimes referred to as the `` writer 's wing '' of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Pete Rozelle Radio - Television Award References Jump up ^ `` History of the Pro Football Hall of Fame ''. Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2012. Jump up ^ `` List of Hall of Fame members ''. Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` The Pro Football Hall of Fame : Then and Now ''. Pro Football Hall of Fame. January 1, 2005. Archived from the original on February 6, 2011. Retrieved February 6, 2011. Jump up ^ Tendler, Alexandra. `` $800 million ' Disneyland ' for football will open in 2020, NFL Hall of Fame pres. says ''. FoxBusiness.com. Retrieved 27 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Chicago Bears : Team History ''. Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on February 6, 2011. Retrieved February 6, 2011. ^ Jump up to : `` Selection Process ''. Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` Selection Process FAQ ''. Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` Canton welcome mat still out for O.J. Simpson ''. ESPN.com. July 21, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` 2012 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival Schedule ''. Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Class of 2007 Presenters ''. Pro Football Hall of Fame. July 2, 2007. Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2012. ^ Jump up to : Joyner, KC ( January 25, 2009 ). `` A Case for Ray Guy Belonging in Pro Football Hall of Fame ''. The New York Times. Jump up ^ Barall, Andy ( February 16, 2012 ). `` How to Fix Football 's Hall of Fame Voting System ''. The New York Times. Jump up ^ King, Peter ( October 21, 2014 ). Behind the HOF 's New Contributor Committee. SI.com. Retrieved October 21, 2014. Jump up ^ Billson, Marky ( August 4, 2010 ). `` As strange as it sounds, Howard Cosell has never won Rozelle award ''. Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on October 6, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2017. Jump up ^ Researcher, NFL ( February 4, 2013 ). `` Cronyism on the part of the NFL and the Pro Football Hall of Fame ? ''. NFL Sports Blog. Jump up ^ `` Marvin Harrison was snubbed simply because he has n't waited long enough ''. Stampede Blue. Retrieved 2015 - 12 - 13. 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Parker Modern era Aikman Blanda Bradshaw L. Dawson Elway Favre Fouts Graham Griese Jurgensen J. Kelly Layne Marino Montana Moon Namath Stabler Starr Staubach Tarkenton Tittle Unitas Van Brocklin Warner Waterfield Young Running backs Pre-modern era Battles Canadeo Dudley Grange Guyon Hinkle Lambeau Leemans McAfee McNally Nagurski Nevers Pollard Strong Thorpe Van Buren Modern era M. Allen Bettis J. Brown Campbell Csonka T. Davis Dickerson Dorsett Faulk Gifford Harris Hornung J.H. Johnson L. Kelly F. Little Martin Matson McElhenny Moore Motley Payton Perry Riggins B. Sanders Sayers Simpson E. Smith Jim Taylor T. Thomas Tomlinson Trippi Walker Wide receivers / ends Pre-modern era Badgro Chamberlin Flaherty Halas Hewitt Hutson Millner Modern era Alworth Berry Biletnikoff T. Brown Carter Fears Harrison Hayes Hirsch Irvin Joiner Largent Lavelli Lofton Maynard McDonald Mitchell Monk Pihos Reed Rice Stallworth Swann C. Taylor Warfield Tight ends Casper Ditka Mackey Newsome C. Sanders Sharpe J. Smith Winslow Offensive linemen L. Allen B. Brown R. Brown Creekmur D. Dawson DeLamielleure Dierdorf Gatski Gregg Grimm Hannah Hickerson S. Jones W. Jones Langer L. Little Mack Matthews McCormack McDaniel Mix Munchak Muñoz Ogden Otto Pace J. Parker Ringo Roaf Shaw Shell Shields Slater St. Clair Stanfel Stephenson Tingelhoff Upshaw Webster Wright Yary Zimmerman Pre-modern era two - way players Edwards Fortmann Healey Hein Henry Hubbard Kiesling Kinard Lyman Michalske Musso Owen Stydahar Trafton Turner Wojciechowicz Defensive linemen Atkins Bethea Buchanan Culp W. Davis Dean Dent Doleman Donovan Eller Ford J. Greene Haley Hampton Humphrey D. Jones Jordan Kennedy Lilly Long Marchetti Nomellini Olsen Page Randle Robustelli Sapp Selmon B. Smith Stautner Strahan Ja. Taylor Weinmeister Ra. White Re. White Willis Youngblood Linebackers Bednarik Bo. Bell Brooks Buoniconti Butkus Carson Connor George K. Greene Ham Hanburger Hendricks Huff Jackson Lambert Lanier Nitschke Richter Robinson Schmidt Seau Singletary L. Taylor D. Thomas Tippett Wilcox Defensive backs Adderley Barney Blount W. Brown Butler Christiansen Easley Green Haynes Houston J. Johnson Krause Lane Lary LeBeau Lott Renfro D. Sanders E. Thomas Tunnell Wehrli Williams L. Wilson Wood Woodson Placekickers & punters Andersen Groza Guy Stenerud Coaches G. Allen P. Brown Chamberlin Conzelman Dungy Ewbank Flaherty Gibbs Gillman Grant Halas Lambeau Landry Levy Lombardi Madden Neale Noll Owen Parcells Shula Stram Walsh Contributors Be. Bell Bidwill Carr A. Davis DeBartolo Finks Halas Hunt J. Jones Lambeau T. Mara W. Mara Marshall Polian Ray Reeves A. Rooney D. Rooney Rozelle Sabol Schramm R. Wilson Wolf Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pro_Football_Hall_of_Fame&oldid=803775059 '' Categories : Pro Football Hall of Fame American football museums and halls of fame Buildings and structures in Canton, Ohio Halls of fame in Ohio History of American football American national museums in Ohio Museums in Stark County, Ohio Sports museums in Ohio Tourist attractions in Canton, Ohio Awards established in 1963 1963 establishments in Ohio Halls of fame in the United States Hidden categories : Wikipedia introduction cleanup from March 2017 All pages needing cleanup Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from March 2017 All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify Coordinates on Wikidata Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2017 All articles containing potentially dated statements Wikipedia articles needing clarification from August 2017 All articles lacking reliable references Articles lacking reliable references from August 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Dansk Deutsch Español Euskara Français 한국어 Italiano עברית 日本 語 Norsk Polski Simple English Suomi Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 4 October 2017, at 15 : 21. 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Question: why is the nfl hall of fame located in canton ohio
Answer: first, the NFL was founded in Canton in 1920 (at that time it was known as the American Professional Football Association)