Pro Football Hall of Fame - wikipedia Pro Football Hall of Fame Professional sports hall of fame in Canton, Ohio 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. Opened in 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coaches, franchise owners, and front - office personnel, almost all of whom made their primary contributions to the game in the National Football League ( NFL ) ; the Hall inducts between four and eight new enshrinees each year. The Hall of Fame 's Mission is to `` Honor the Heroes of the Game, Preserve its History, Promote its Values & Celebrate Excellence EVERYWHERE. '' With the election of the Class of 2018 -- Bobby Beathard, Robert Brazile, Brian Dawkins, Jerry Kramer, Ray Lewis, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, and Brian Urlacher -- there are a total of 318 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 Glossary of American football American football Portal Contents 1 History 1.1 Executive Directors / Presidents of Hall of Fame 2 Inductees 2.1 Selection process 2.1. 1 Selection Committee 2.1. 2 Voting procedure 2.2 Enshrinement ceremony 3 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 2013, the Hall of Fame completed its largest expansion and renovation today. Currently, the Hall of Fame consists of 118,000 square feet. An $800 million expansion project, Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village, is underway and will be completed to coincide with the NFL 's Centennial in 2020. Executive Directors / Presidents of Hall of Fame Dick McCann ( April 4, 1962 -- November 1967 ) Dick Gallagher ( April 1968 -- December 31, 1975 ) Pete Elliott ( 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 -- present ) 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, Arena Football League and / or Indoor 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 either 34 or 28 enshrinees depending on whether you count players that only played a small portion of their careers with the team. Selection Process Selection Committee www.profootballhof.com/heroes-of-the-game/becoming-a-hall-of-famer/ Enshrinees are selected by a 48 - 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. There are also 15 at - large delegates including 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. 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 two or one 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 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. 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 celebration is held throughout the week in Canton surrounding 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. Hall of Fame game Main article : Pro Football Hall of Fame Game The Hall of Fame Game, the annual NFL preseason opener, is played in Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. 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 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. As the late 2010s approached, a number of controversial and polarizing figures began to reach eligibility for the Hall. Terrell Owens 's exclusion from the Hall in his first two years of eligibility despite his strong individual statistics was a subject of public debate. Owens was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2018. 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 ^ `` Class of 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site ''. www.profootballhof.com. Retrieved 2018 - 03 - 09. Jump up ^ `` List of Hall of Fame members ''. 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, 2012. 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 ^ `` History of the Pro Football Hall of Fame ''. Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 16, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Chicago Bears : Team History ''. Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. 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 ^ `` One Hall of Fame voter sheds light on why Terrell Owens did n't make it in ''. External links Official website Media related to Pro Football Hall of Fame at Wikimedia Commons National Football League ( 2018 ) AFC East North South West Buffalo Bills Miami Dolphins New England Patriots New York Jets Baltimore Ravens Cincinnati Bengals Cleveland Browns Pittsburgh Steelers Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Jacksonville Jaguars Tennessee Titans Denver Broncos Kansas City Chiefs Los Angeles Chargers Oakland Raiders NFC East North South West Dallas Cowboys New York Giants Philadelphia Eagles Washington Redskins Chicago Bears Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings Atlanta Falcons Carolina Panthers New Orleans Saints Tampa Bay Buccaneers Arizona Cardinals Los Angeles Rams San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks Seasons Seasons ( by team ) Preseason Hall of Fame Game American Bowl Regular season Kickoff game Monday Night Football International Series London Toronto Bills Series List of games played outside the U.S. Thanksgiving games Christmas games Playoffs Streaks Droughts AFC Championship NFC Championship Super Bowl champions quarterbacks Pro Bowl History League history Executive history Championship history Timeline Defunct franchises Franchise moves and mergers Los Angeles team history Proposed stadiums 1995 -- 2016 American Football League ( 1960 -- 1969 ) Playoffs Merger NFL Championship ( 1920 -- 1969 ) Playoff Bowl Records individual team Super Bowl All time win -- loss Last undefeated Tied games Canceled games Controversies Business Owners Properties Management Council Competition Committee Collective Bargaining Agreement National Football League Players Association Lockouts Media TV NFL Network NFL RedZone Radio NFL Films Other Officials Stadiums Chronology Awards All - Pro Hall of Fame Foreign players NFL Europe Player conduct Suspensions Player misconduct Combine Draft Training camp Rivalries NFL Foundation Culture Cheerleading Color Rush Mascots Lore Nicknames Numbers Retired hide Members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Quarterbacks Pre-modern era Baugh Clark Conzelman Driscoll Friedman Herber Luckman A. 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 Moss Owens 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 Kramer 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 Brazile Brooks Buoniconti Butkus Carson Connor George K. Greene Ham Hanburger Hendricks Huff Jackson Lambert Lanier Lewis Nitschke Richter Robinson Schmidt Seau Singletary L. Taylor D. Thomas Tippett Urlacher Wilcox Defensive backs Adderley Barney Blount W. Brown Butler Christiansen Dawkins Easley Green Haynes Houston J. Johnson Krause Lane Lary LeBeau Lott Renfro D. Sanders E. Thomas Tunnell Wehrli Williams L. Wilson Wood Woodson Placekickers and 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 Beathard 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=844892393 '' 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 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Dansk Deutsch Español Euskara Français 한국어 Italiano עברית 日本 語 Norsk Polski Simple English Suomi Svenska 5 more Edit links This page was last edited on 7 June 2018, at 21 : 57. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. 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Question: where is the pro football hall of fame located
Answer: 2121 George Halas Dr NW, Canton, Ohio