NFL – Hall Of Fame

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the place where all the greats of the National Football League are inducted, and it reads like a who's who of American Football.

Based in Canton Ohio, it was started in 1963 with 17 original inductees and that number continues to grow year on year. A question a lot of people ask is why it is based in Canton which has no current NFL links, well Canton was the original home of the NFL then known as the American Professional Football Association, and secondly the now-defunct Canton Bulldogs were a successful NFL team based in Canton during the first few years of the league.

The actual Hall of Fame has undergone many changes and expansions in its life and its total area covering five rooms now totals more than 82,000 square feet, including the latest addition the Game Day Stadium, which shows  NFL Films productions on a 20-foot by 42-foot Cinemascope screen. Those who bet on NFL will love that sort of thing.

So how do you get elected into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame? – That is decided by the Board of Selectors who are mainly journalists from the cities which house NFL teams, these are augmented by other delegates and the Board in total numbers 44.

To be eligible for the nominating process, a player or coach must have been retired 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 semi-finalists: once in March, one in September, and one in October. In November, the committee then selects 15 finalists by mail balloting. Fans of football betting keep a close eye on proceedings.

Finally the class of that year is selected on the eve of that year's Super Bowl, to qualify the nominee must gain at least 80 per cent support from the Board.

Inductions are them made in August the night before the annual Hall Of Fame game between two existing NFL teams as part of their pre-season schedule.

Inductees do not go into the Hall Of Fame as a member of any particular team, they are treated as individuals and are depicted in the Hall by a bust of themselves and they are presented with a distinctive gold jackets to wear at all future Hall Of Fame events.