Arena Football Hall of Fame
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| Established | 1998 |
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| Website | www.arenafootball.com/hallfame |
The Arena Football Hall of Fame is the official Hall of Fame of the Arena Football League (AFL). The inaugural class was in 1998 and was not formally organized until 2011. Prior to 2011, there were four classes: 1998–2000 and then another in 2002. The Arena Football Hall of Fame is the highest honor for players, coaches, and contributors involved in the AFL. The voting process consists of fans and current Hall of Fame members voting on the finalists. The finalists are selected by the League Office in which they collect ballots from the Arena Football Hall of Fame Advisory Board, a group which consisted of former players, executives, journalists and media personnel with a long-time involvement in the league.
In order to be nominated for the Arena Football Hall of Fame, a candidate must meet at least one of four criteria (as of 2015, depending upon whether he is being considered as a player, a coach, or a contributor). A player who has played after the 1989 season must have played a minimum of three seasons. A player must be retired for a minimum of three full seasons. A coach must be active for a minimum of five seasons but does not need to be retired. There is no minimum number of seasons required for contributors, but significant advancement of the AFL is a prerequisite.
There is currently no physical location for the Arena Football Hall of Fame. Unlike the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which recognizes the greats not only of the NFL but the history of other outdoor pro football leagues, there is not a museum associated with Arena Football, but there is, however, within the Pro Football Hall of Fame a relatively small exhibit that features the history of the Arena Football League.
Much like the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Arena Football League has a weekend dedicated to the inductees and during a selected Hall of Fame Game the inductees will partake in a Hall of Fame ceremony. This ceremony takes place prior to the game and will feature highlights as well as speeches from each of the inductees; each of the Hall of Fame Games are aired on CBS Sports Network annually.
The list is complete up to date 2014 Hall of Fame class.
Class of 2015 Finalists:
Joe DeLamielleure was the first Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee to ever play with an Arena Football Team; as an apparent publicity stunt, he played two games for the Charlotte Rage in the 1992 season, seven years after he had retired from professional football.
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