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62-756: As a result of the Bulldogs' early success, along with the league being founded in the city, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is located in Canton. Jim Thorpe ( Sac and Fox ), an Olympic champion and renowned all-around athlete, was Canton's most-recognized player in the pre-NFL era. In 1924, Sam Deutsch , the owner of the NFL's Cleveland Indians , bought the Canton Bulldogs. He took the Bulldogs name and its players to Cleveland and named his franchise

124-510: A Hall of Fame . The Chicago Bears have the most Hall of Famers among the league's franchises with either 40 or 32 enshrinees depending on whether players that only played a small portion of their careers with the team are counted. Enshrinees are selected by a 50-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

186-583: A Canton Repository editorial that pointed out why a Hall of Fame should be located in their city. The city's foundations and individuals banded together to first win site designation from the NFL and then raise $ 378,026 to build a hall of fame on wooded parkland donated by the city. Ground-breaking was held in August 1962, and the Hall was opened on September 7, 1963. †= Never played in the league Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame

248-581: A November 14, 1906 cartoon showing the Canton Bulldog facing off against the Massillon Tiger. Blondy Wallace began the 1906 season by signing Jack Lang , Jack Hayden , Herman Kerkhoff , and Clark Schrontz away from the Tigers and improving Canton's chances for 1906 championship. Due to the money that was being spent by Canton and Massillon on professional players, both teams ended up with

310-466: A fifth room. This expansion was completed on October 1, 1995, and increased the building's size 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-by-42-foot (6.1 m × 12.8 m) Cinemascope screen. In 2013, the Hall of Fame completed its largest expansion and renovation to date; the total size of

372-408: 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% support from

434-509: A game that served as a precursor to the championship, Canton defeated Parratt, however, Canton captain Harry Turner , was severely injured during the game while attempting to tackle Akron's Joe Collins . He later died of a fracture to his spinal cord . According to Canton manager Jack Cusack , who was at Turner's bedside when he died, his last words were "I know I must go," he said, "but I'm satisfied, for we beat Peggy Parratt." Canton won

496-610: A permanent exhibit recognizing the inductees of the Black College Football Hall of Fame . The two organizations partnered in 2016, also creating the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. The Ralph Hay Pioneer Award is an American football 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

558-725: A real end to the fixing scandal. In 1911, Canton finally fielded a new team called the Canton Professionals. The team was made up entirely of local players and the pay was undoubtedly small. In their comeback season, the Pros finished in second place in the standing behind Peggy Parratt and the Shelby Blues . In 1914, the Pros challenged Parratt, this time with the Akron Indians , for the Ohio League title. In

620-459: A spending deficit that had to be shouldered by local businessmen. That year the Bulldogs won their first game against the Tigers, at Canton, but lost the second game at Massillon. Due to the rules of the championship series, the win in the second game allowed Massillon to claim the Ohio championship. Shortly after that second game, a Massillon newspaper charged Canton coach Blondy Wallace with throwing

682-655: A successful auto dealer, took over managing the team. Hay kept Cusack's team pretty much intact in 1919 and the Bulldogs won their third league championship in four years. They played the Hammond Pros , twice in Chicago at Cubs Park, now called Wrigley Field , in front of crowds of 10,000 fans. While the Bulldogs were selling out stadiums and promoting professional football in America, many teams were in serious financial trouble. These teams, who were trying to compete with

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744-515: A total of 378 members of the Hall of Fame. Between four and nine 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 have the most inductees, with 34 (42, including players with minor portion of their career with team). The city of Canton, Ohio , successfully lobbied

806-503: Is named after Canton Bulldogs owner and National Football League founder and chief organizer Ralph Hay . It was originally called the Daniel F. Reeves Pioneer Award, named after Los Angeles Rams owner and hall of fame inductee Dan Reeves . 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 , Art McNally , Marion Motley and Bill Willis are

868-549: Is the hall of fame for professional American football , located in Canton, Ohio . Opened on September 7, 1963 , 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 (NFL). As of 2024 , there are

930-441: 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

992-699: Is the only inductee in the Hall to have experience as an in-game official. 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. Another prominent absence from the Hall is sports-journalist and broadcaster Howard Cosell , who has yet to either be awarded the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award or even get fully inducted despite his well-known association with Monday Night Football ; an August 2010 Sports Illustrated article hints that Cosell may have even been "blacklisted" by

1054-476: The 1927 season , the league decided to purge itself of some of the weaker franchises. Twelve teams were jettisoned, including Canton and three other charter members of the APFA. Despite the Bulldogs folding in 1927, the team's heritage played a major role in Canton's selection as the location of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. First, the NFL was organized in a Canton automobile showroom on September 17, 1920. Secondly,

1116-534: 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

1178-590: The Buffalo All-Americans in New York City in December 1920, Thorpe left the Bulldogs at the end of the 1920 season. In the APFA, the Bulldogs found the competition somewhat tougher than expected. Canton had a respectable 9–5–4 record over the next two seasons. The APFA became the National Football League in 1922 and Hay hired Guy Chamberlin as Canton's player-coach . Chamberlin rebuilt

1240-656: The Cleveland Bulldogs , and they won the 1924 NFL championship. Chamberlin also served as a player-coach of the Cleveland Bulldogs. He became the first to coach NFL champions in three consecutive years. Deutsch then sold the franchise back to a group of Canton investors for $ 3,000 and the Canton Bulldogs were back in the NFL, along with the Cleveland Bulldogs. Canton had an overall record of 4–4–0 in 1925 and 1–9–3 in 1926, during which time they were coached by future Hall of Fame coach Pete Henry . Before

1302-412: The Cleveland Bulldogs . He offered to sell the Canton franchise back to the city of Canton to play in the 1924 season; however, there were no buyers interested in the team. He "mothballed" the Canton club. The Canton Bulldogs were re-established in 1925, and the NFL considers the 1925 to 1926 Canton Bulldogs to be the same team as the 1920 to 1923 incarnation. An unrelated "Canton Bulldogs" team played in

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1364-498: The Latrobe Athletic Association , led by quarterback John Brallier . Latrobe was not only the current Pennsylvania champions but had gone undefeated for the last three seasons. Latrobe was also considered the only pro team capable of competing with Canton and Massillon. Canton would go on to lose its 1905 game to Latrobe, 6–0. However, the worst part of the loss came when coach Bill Laub became injured and

1426-551: The Massillon Tigers arrived on the scene and went professional, Canton, as an amateur team, was no longer competitive. The Canton Bulldogs were officially established on November 15, 1904, as the Canton Athletic Club , a club designed to operate baseball and football teams. The statement stated that the football team was to be a "professional organization," complete with a "professional coach." The team

1488-530: The Massillon Tigers of the Ohio League . In 1906, he was convinced by Blondy Wallace , coach of the Canton Bulldogs to join the Bulldogs. He jumped from the Tigers to the Bulldogs along with Jack Hayden , Herman Kerkhoff , and Clark Schrontz . That season Canton played Massillon in a two game home-and-home series to determine the 1906 Ohio League championship. While Canton won the first game of

1550-635: The NFL to have the Hall of Fame built in Canton, citing three reasons. First, the NFL was founded in Canton on September 17, 1920 , (at that time it was known as the American Professional Football Association ). Second, the now-defunct Canton Bulldogs were a successful pro football team and the NFL's first repeat champion (in 1922 and 1923 ). Third, the Canton community held a fundraising effort that garnered nearly $ 400,000 (equivalent to $ 3,086,000 in 2023) to get

1612-739: The United Football League in 1964. This team's name was coincidental, as it had moved from Cleveland and kept its original nickname. That team moved to Philadelphia , where it became the "Philadelphia Bulldogs." All in all, this version of the Cleveland-Canton-Philadelphia Bulldogs played from 1961 to 1966, its last two years in Philadelphia as a member of the Continental Football League . Another "Canton Bulldogs" team

1674-713: 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 article criticized the Hall for not including punter Ray Guy on its ballot. 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 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 —have been enshrined; McNally

1736-477: The 1906 championship game. Canton denied the charges, maintaining that Massillon only wanted to ruin the club's reputation before their final game with Latrobe. Although Massillon could not prove that Canton had thrown the game, the accusation so tarnished Canton's name that virtually no one attended the Latrobe game. The scandal ruined professional football in Ohio until the mid-1910s. Other sports pundits argue that

1798-466: The 1906 season. As late as November 4, R.C. Johnson, an editorial cartoonist with the Canton Repository , was only able to picture the Canton team as only a man with a club lying in wait for the Massillon Tiger. Most references to the team called it "Canton A.C.," "C.A.C.," "Canton eleven." "The Red and White" or "Wallace's Men." Suddenly, almost overnight, the team became the "Bulldogs", with

1860-559: The Bulldogs into a championship team. He kept just five players from the 1921 squad. As a player, Chamberlin led his team past the Chicago Cardinals in 1922 by blocking a punt that set up a touchdown , and running back two interceptions for touchdowns to beat the Cards' 20–3. The Bulldogs went on to win back-to-back NFL championships in 1922 and 1923. However, Canton suffered several setbacks in 1923. First Hay announced that he

1922-409: The Bulldogs, were spending more money than they could afford and were stealing players from one another, which drove salaries even higher. In 1920 at Hay's auto showroom, known for Hupmobiles , the American Professional Football Association was organized. As the best-known personality in football, Thorpe was named the APFA's first permanent president. After scheduling a showcase game between Canton and

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1984-410: The Canton Bulldogs were one of the early powers of pro football both before and after 1920. An NFL charter member, the Bulldogs became the new league's first two-time champions with undefeated seasons in 1922 and 1923. Finally, Jim Thorpe, the first big-name athlete to play pro football, began his pro tenure with the 1915 Canton Bulldogs. In late 1959, the citizens of Canton responded enthusiastically to

2046-572: The Centennial Slate elected to the Hall of Fame in 2020 are: Jim Covert , Winston Hill , Harold Carmichael , Duke Slater , Ed Sprinkle , Steve Sabol , Alex Karras , Bobby Dillon , Donnie Shell , George Young , Cliff Harris , Mac Speedie , and former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue . They were enshrined in 2021 due to COVID-19, but are still considered part of the Centennial Class of 2020. The enshrinement ceremony

2108-494: The Committee. At least four, but no more than nine, candidates are elected annually. 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

2170-500: The Hall of Fame Game. In 2022, the ceremony was moved to noon ET. The Hall of Fame Game, the annual NFL preseason opener, is played in Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium at Hall of Fame Village 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 and marks the start of the NFL preseason . The Pro Football Hall of Fame museum includes

2232-420: The Hall of Fame built. Groundbreaking for the building was held on August 11, 1962, and the Hall of Fame was opened to the public on September 7, 1963. 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 on May 10, 1971 . The size

2294-647: The Hall without having made significant contributions to either the NFL, AFL, or All-America Football Conference . For CFL stars, there is a corresponding Canadian Football Hall of Fame ; only one player, Warren Moon , and two coaches, Bud Grant and Marv Levy , are enshrined in both halls. Again for the Arena Football League, there is also a corresponding Arena Football Hall of Fame ; similarly, only one player, Kurt Warner , has been enshrined into both halls. The Indoor Football League , in which Terrell Owens played one season, has also established

2356-453: 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 '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. Official guidelines state that off the field character issues are not allowed to influence

2418-528: The NFL; Shaw 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 these, to this point no player, coach or contributor have made

2480-417: The Ohio League championship, the Canton team folded. Blondy Wallace may have lost more than money. His libel suit never came to trial. The reason was probably that he settled out of court, rather than that Massillon had some sort of secret evidence. This leaves the scandal still disputed by historians and football fans alike. Because Wallace settled out of court, we have only charges and countercharges instead of

2542-495: The expense of placing all-star teams on the field each week hampered the sport. The Canton Morning News put a $ 20,000 price tag on the Massillon Tigers 1906 team, while many speculate that the Bulldogs probably cost even more. Still, others contend that the games involving top teams like Canton and Massilon were too one-sided and lacked excitement. While Massillon was still able to field a local team in 1907 and still win

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2604-556: The final two AFL-NFL World Championship games. 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 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 $ 9,200,000, and adding

2666-417: The first of two Canton-Massillon games approached, Cusack signed Jim Thorpe for $ 250 a game. Thorpe did not play much in the Bulldogs' first game, at Massillon, which the Tigers won 16–0. In the second game, Thorpe took over as the team's coach and played the entire game. He kicked two field goals in a 6–0 Canton win. In 1916, the Bulldogs went undefeated, beat Massillon 24–0, and were generally recognized as

2728-512: The game 6–0. The death of Turner was taken hard by the team. It was the first fatal accident involving a major professional football team in Ohio. The Professionals easily lost a rematch to the Indians a few days later. In 1915, Massillon and Canton began hiring several players away from the Akron Pros . Jack Cusack, who had become manager of the Canton team, restored the old Bulldog name. As

2790-419: The hall is now 118,000 square feet (11,000 m ). Hall of Fame Village, an estimated $ 900 million expansion project adjacent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, completed Phase I of construction in 2022, a Phase II is planned, although no news has been put out recently. Through 2022, all players in the Hall, except Buffalo Bills guard Billy Shaw , played at least some part of their professional career in

2852-493: The list to 25 semi-finalists. 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

2914-573: 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 . 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. To be eligible for

2976-486: The new inductee ceremonies. Previous induction ceremonies were held during the next day (Sunday from 1999 to 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 ), 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

3038-599: 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

3100-425: The only people to receive the award and also become a Hall of Fame inductee. 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 backs and outside linebackers in particular), special teams players, wide receivers , and those from

3162-439: The professional champions, not only of Ohio, but also of the country. The average attendance for a game before Thorpe's signing was 1,500. That soon rose to 6,000 and eventually reached 8,000 spectators, which was the capacity of Canton's League Park. Thorpe would remain the chief attendance draw in professional football until Red Grange entered the game in 1925. Because Thorpe was able to draw big crowds to Canton for games, Cusack

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3224-459: The selection process and have not affected the ability of figures such as O. J. Simpson and Lawrence Taylor to remain enshrined in the Hall. Terrell Owens ' 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. Jack Lang (American football) John Lang

3286-401: The series, Massillon won the second game (and under rules determined by both team) the championship. Canton was later accused of throwing the championship in a betting scandal . Prior to his professional career Jack played three years at tackle while attending Washington and Jefferson College . Lang also coached the 1905 Westminster College team of New Wilmington, Pennsylvania , leading

3348-443: The set of The NFL Today to personally tell Bill Cowher , 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 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

3410-504: The team. Chamberlin stayed on as coach, assuring the team of success on the field. Success at the gate was not nearly so likely. As the payroll for Canton players became too expensive, the team lost about $ 13,000 in 1923 and the Canton Athletic Company sold the franchise in August for $ 2,500 to Cleveland promoter Samuel Deutsch , owner of the NFL's Cleveland Indians . He added seven players from Canton, renamed his team

3472-644: Was a professional American football player. In 1902 he won a championship in the first National Football League with the Pittsburgh Stars . A year later he was a member of the Franklin Athletic Club football team that was considered the "best in the world". He also won the 1903 World Series of Football , held at Madison Square Garden , with the Franklin Athletic Club. Lang then spent the 1904 and 1905 seasons with

3534-566: Was able to put together a financially stable squad that included several former All-Americans, including Cub Buck , who also coached at Carleton College at the time. In 1917, the Bulldogs won their first eight games to claim the league championship. Neither Canton nor Massillon played during the 1918 season because of the Great War and the flu pandemic . Cusack left the team that year to start up an oil business in Oklahoma and Ralph Hay ,

3596-515: Was given the goal of beating the rival Massillon Tigers , who had won the Ohio League championship in 1903 and 1904. To do this, Canton went out and offered money to the best players on all the other Ohio League teams. Bill Laub , a player, team captain, and coach of the Akron East Ends , was hired as the team's first-ever coach. The team began its 1905 season with a 7–0 record. The Bulldogs then traveled to Latrobe, Pennsylvania to play

3658-417: 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

3720-646: Was slated to begin play in the Stars Football League in 2012, although that team was never organized. The Bulldogs name is also in use at Canton McKinley High School . Prior to the debut of professional football in the city, an amateur team from Canton was mentioned as being a superior team in Stark County, Ohio . Until about 1902, this team competed with the Akron East Ends for the Ohio Independent Championship. When

3782-423: Was stepping down as the team's manager. His asking price for the team was $ 1,500, which was decided to be about $ 500 more than the 1922 champions were worth. Things were still up in the air when Hay and Chamberlin left for Chicago to represent the Bulldogs at the league's summer meeting. When Ralph Hay returned to Canton, he sold the Bulldogs on a group of local businessmen who formed the Canton Athletic Company to run

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3844-522: Was unable to finish the season. Blondy Wallace , a former All-American for the Penn Quakers , was then named as Laub's successor and team captain. Two weeks later, the team would lose the Ohio League championship game to the Massillon Tigers, 14–4. Sometime during the 1906 season, the Canton team became known as the "Bulldogs" although no one is quite sure how it came to be affixed to the Canton team. It wasn't called that in 1905, nor through most of

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