Established | 1963 |
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Location | 2121 George Halas Dr NW, Canton, Ohio, 44708 |
Coordinates | 40°49′16″N 81°23′52″W / 40.82111°N 81.39778°WCoordinates: 40°49′16″N 81°23′52″W / 40.82111°N 81.39778°W |
Type | Professional sports hall of fame |
Visitors | 191,943 (2010) |
President | C. David Baker |
Website | profootballhof |
Part of the American football series on History of American football |
• Origins of American football
• Close relations:
• Black players in American professional football |
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football As of 2016[update], there are a total of 303 members of the Hall of Fame.
• Origins of American football
• Close relations:
• Black players in American professional 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
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 m2) 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 m2) 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.