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Coordinates: 40°49′14″N 81°23′51″W / 40.82056°N 81.3975°W / 40.82056; -81.3975

Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio
Location of Pro Football Hall of Fame
Established	1963
Location	Canton, Ohio
Type	Professional sports hall of fame
Visitor figures	191,943 (2010)[1]
Director	Steve Perry[1]
Nearest car park	On site (no charge)[2]
Website	profootballhof.com

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League (NFL). The hall opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter enshrinees.^[3] Including the most recent six honorees announced in February 2012, there are a total 267 members of the Hall of Fame.^[4] The Pro Football Hall of Fame is unique among North American major league sports halls of fame in that officials are not inducted. The Baseball Hall of Fame, Basketball Hall of Fame and Hockey Hall of Fame have each inducted game officials as members.

History[link]

Canton, Ohio was selected as the location for the Hall of Fame for three 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; and finally, the community of Canton successfully lobbied the NFL to have the Hall built in their city.^[3] 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.^[3]

The Hall is made up of several sections, at heart is the display of inductees.

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.^[3]

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 m²), more than 2.5 times the original size.^[3]

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 m²). 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.^[3]

Inductees[link]

Through 2012, 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 and United States 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 30 enshrinees.^[5]

Selection process[link]

Board of Selectors[link]

Enshrinees are selected by a 44-person committee, largely made up of sportswriters, officially known as the Board of Selectors.^[6]

Usually, the representative is a beat writer for the major newspaper in that city, even though this isn't always the case; for instance, the Atlanta Falcons are represented by Len Pasquarelli (who no longer writes for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution), and the Jacksonville Jaguars are represented by WJXT sports director Sam Kouvaris.^[6]

There are also 11 at-large delegates (usually cities that lose NFL teams keep representation on the board; Los Angeles is the only current city to have lost an NFL team and not been granted an expansion team), and 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.^[6]

Voting procedure[link]

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.^[7] Unlike the Baseball Hall of Fame, which explicitly waives its five-year waiting period for players who die during that time or while active, the Pro Football Hall of Fame has no provision to waive its waiting period.

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, one in September, and one in October. In November, the committee then selects 15 finalists by mail balloting. Nine members of the Selection Committee also serve as a subcommittee known as the Seniors Committee to screen candidates who finished their careers 25 or more years prior. The Seniors Committee then adds two finalists from that group which makes a final ballot of 17 nominees.^[7]

The Selection Committee then meets 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 seven, candidates being elected annually. If less than four candidates get 80 percent of the vote, then the top four vote-getters will get in that year. If more than seven get 80 percent, then only the top seven vote-getters will be inducted.^[7]

Induction ceremony[link]

Fawcett Stadium with Hall of Fame in lower right

The induction ceremony is usually held the first full weekend in August. A enshrinement festival is held throughout the week in Canton leading up to the induction ceremonies.^[8]

Enshrinees do not go into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of a certain team. Rather, all of an inductee's affiliations are listed equally.^[7] 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), 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 golden jacket and previous inductees nearly always wear theirs when participating at new inductee ceremonies.

Previous induction ceremonies were held during the 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. Since 2007 the enshrinement ceremony has been held on Saturday night.^[9]

Pro Football Hall of Fame Game[link]

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, an annual NFL pre-season exhibition game, is held the day after the induction ceremony and officially kicks off the NFL Preseason.

Criticism[link]

A 2009 New York Times article criticized the Hall for not including punter Ray Guy on its ballot, also noting that the Hall does not have an inductee representing the position.^[10]

There has also been criticism that certain players get overlooked because their team underproduced during their career and certain positions such as WR get "snubbed," ^[11]. Cris Carter is tops among these types of players, having some of the best numbers of any WR in many categories throughout his career, all while on a team that never made it to the Super Bowl ^[12].

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pro Football Hall of Fame

• Touchdown Club Charities Hall of Fame
• Canadian Football Hall of Fame
• Dick McCann Memorial Award - sometimes referred to as the "writer's wing" of the Pro Football Hall of Fame^[13]

References[link]

A Football Hall of Fame may refer to:

American football[link]

• College Football Hall of Fame
• Pro Football Hall of Fame

Association football[link]

• Australian Soccer Hall of Fame
• English Football Hall of Fame
• National Soccer Hall of Fame – New York, US
• Scottish Football Hall of Fame

Australian rules football[link]

• Australian Football Hall of Fame
• West Australian Football Hall of Fame

Canadian football[link]

• Canadian Football Hall of Fame

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Walhalla temple, Germany

Along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, U.S.

A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field. The meaning of "Fame" has changed over the years, originally meaning "renown" as opposed to today's more common meaning of "celebrity".^[1]

In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or museums which enshrine the honorees with sculptures, plaques, and displays of memorabilia. Sometimes, the honorees' plaques may instead be posted on a wall (a '"wall of fame") or inscribed on a sidewalk (a "walk of fame" or an "avenue of fame"). In others, the hall of fame is more figurative, and just simply consists of a list of names of noteworthy individuals maintained by an organization or community.

The English-language term was first used for the Hall of Fame for Great Americans at Bronx Community College, in New York City, although its inspiration, the Ruhmeshalle in Munich, Germany, also means "Hall of Fame". The Walhalla Temple in Bavaria, Germany, is an even earlier hall of fame, conceived in 1807 and built between 1830 and 1842.

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Halls of fame

Look up hall of fame in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• R. Rubin (1997). "The Mall of Fame". The Atlantic Monthly 280 (1): 14–18. 

This organization-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Curtis James Martin, Jr. (born May 1, 1973^[1]) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots and New York Jets over the course of ten years. Martin began his professional career with the Patriots, who selected him in the third round of the 1995 NFL Draft. He joined the Jets in 1998 where he finished his career in 2005 after he was forced into retirement due to injury. He retired having amassed the fourth highest total of rushing yards in NFL history. He was selected as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012.

Early years[link]

Curtis Jr. was born to Rochella Dixon and Curtis Sr. on May 1, 1973.^[2] Curtis Sr. left the family in 1978 after turning to drugs and alcohol leaving Curtis' mother to support the family by working two jobs.^[2] Curtis often moved around the different neighborhoods in Pittsburgh during his youth and was consistently surrounded by violence.^[3][4] He and his mother settled in Point Breeze prior to his sophomore year of high school. He began to attend Taylor Allderdice High School which, was known for its highly regarded academic reputation in the Pittsburgh area.^[3] He played basketball as a sophomore but did not participate in any sports during his junior year.^[3] At the pleas of his mother, who wanted him to participate in a sport to keep him away from the violence, Curtis began to play football during his senior year despite having never cared much for the sport.^[4][5]

Curtis was a natural athlete according to former head coach Mark Wittgartner and became an immediate star on the football team as he played running back and linebacker. He also played on special teams and occasionally at quarterback.^[3] He ran for 1,705 yards and scored 20 touchdowns in his lone season of high school football.^[5] Curtis's performance attracted the attention of the University of Pittsburgh's football coach Paul Hackett. Though other offers were available, Curtis decided to remain close to home and attend Pittsburgh.^[5]

College career[link]

Martin, whom Hackett likened to Tony Dorsett, was expected to be a valued contributor to the Panthers when he arrived in 1991. However, injuries plagued much of his college career.^[5] As a junior he rushed for 1,045 yards in ten games but he missed the final two with a sprained shoulder.^[5][6] In 1994, Martin opened his senior year running for a career high 251 yards against Texas however the following week against Ohio he suffered a sprained ankle that sidelined him for the rest of the season.^[6]

Martin had the option to redshirt and play one more season at Pittsburgh or enter the NFL Draft. He chose to enter the draft stating "in the end it was the best thing to do".^[6] Draft analysts predicted that had Martin stayed another season at Pittsburgh and remained injury free he could have been a potential first round selection.^[6] Martin was highly touted for his speed, he ran a 4.4 in the 40 yard dash, and his slashing running style.^[6]

Professional career[link]

New England Patriots[link]

The New England Patriots let running backs Marion Butts and Leroy Thompson and fullback Kevin Turner pursue other teams through free agency after 1994. The Philadelphia Eagles signed Turner, who was a restricted free agent, and sent a third round selection to New England.^[6] Despite concerns regarding his durability, the Patriots used the selection to draft Martin in the 1995 NFL Draft.^[6] Martin signed a contract with the team on July 19, 1995.^[7] Martin made his NFL debut in the Patriots' week one win over the Cleveland Browns.^[8] Martin ran for 30 yards on first carry and finished with 102 yards for the day.^[8][9] He became the first Patriots rookie to rush for 100 yards during their debut.^[9] Martin would continue his impressive streak and rush for over 100 yards eight more times during the season. He finished the season as the AFC's leading rusher with 1,487 yards and 14 touchdowns.^[9] He won the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and was named to the Pro Bowl.^[9]

The following year, he rushed for a franchise record 166 yards and three touchdowns in his first career playoff game, against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Patriots went to Super Bowl XXXI, but lost to the Green Bay Packers. Martin rushed for 42 yards, caught three passes for 28 yards, and scored a touchdown in the game. Though he was much less effective in 1996 than he had been in his rookie season,^[10] Martin was again named to the Pro Bowl squad.

New York Jets[link]

After the 1997 season, Martin, a restricted free agent, signed an offer sheet with the New York Jets^[11] for $36 million over six years. The Patriots did not match the Jets' offer and received first and third round draft picks as compensation. Thus, Martin went to the Jets, and was reunited with his former Patriots coach Bill Parcells. In his first seven seasons with the Jets, Martin missed only one game and was selected to the Pro Bowl three times. In 1998, Martin gained 182 yards from scrimmage and scored two touchdowns against the Jacksonville Jaguars in a Jets playoff win. Martin won the NFL rushing title in the 2004 NFL season with 1,697 yards (one more yard than runner-up Shaun Alexander, the closest margin in NFL history). He also won the FedEx Ground Player of the Year Award in 2004. Martin made history for being the oldest player in history to lead the league in rushing at 31 years old.

In 2005, Martin failed in his quest to become the first running back in NFL history to start his career with eleven straight 1,000 rushing yard seasons. He missed a game versus the Oakland Raiders with a knee injury and was placed on injured reserve for the final three games of the season. Martin finished with 735 rushing yards, for a career total of 14,101 rushing yards. Martin began the 2006 season on the Physically Unable to Perform list due to complications from the injury. It was announced he would miss the rest of the regular season with a bone-on-bone condition in his right knee on November 1, 2006. On July 26, 2007 Martin officially announced his retirement from the NFL.^[12] On January 24, 2010 Martin signed with the Jets to serve as honorary captain for them during the AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.^[13]

Accomplishments[link]

Curtis Martin rushed for over 1,000 yards in his first 10 professional seasons, a feat previously accomplished only by Barry Sanders. On November 6, 2005, he scored his 100th career touchdown, joining an elite group of only 16 players to do so. Martin is currently 4th on the all-time rushing yardage list, and on November 27, 2005, in the first quarter against the New Orleans Saints, he became the 4th running back in NFL history, behind Walter Payton, Emmitt Smith and Barry Sanders, to pass the 14,000-yard rushing mark. He is the all-time Jets leader with 10,302 rushing yards with the team.^[14] He is also fourth in the same category for the Patriots with 3799 yards.^[15] Additionally, although it is not statistically relevant, Martin has a perfect passer rating of 158.3: 2 completions on 2 pass attempts, 2 TD passes, and an average of 18 yards per attempt.

On August 16, 2010, during halftime of the Giants-Jets preseason game at the New Meadowlands Stadium, Martin was inducted as a member of the inaugural class to the Jets' Ring of Honor. In his first year of eligibility, Martin was one of finalists for the 2011 Pro Football Hall of Fame, however he was not selected for induction.^[16] Martin was again a leading candidate for selection in 2012 alongside former head coach and mentor Bill Parcells.^[17] Martin was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on February 4, 2012.

Career statistical rankings[link]

• 3,518 career rushing attempts (3rd all-time)
• 14,101 career rushing yards (4th all-time)
• 17,430 career yards from scrimmage (7th all-time)
• 90 career rushing touchdowns (12th all-time)
• 100 career rushing/receiving touchdowns (19th all-time)
• 119 consecutive regular season starts (3rd all-time)^[18][19]
• Oldest player to win a rushing title (age 31) in 2004

New York Jets franchise records[link]

• Most career rushing yards (10,302)
• Most career rushing touchdowns (58)
• Only Jets Running Back to lead the league in rushing yards.

Career statistics[link]

See also[link]

• List of National Football League rushing yards leaders

References[link]