America’s favorite sport started its season on Aug. 6 with the Hall of Fame game in Canton.
This year’s game featured the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. The Panthers won 33-30. The game will be followed by a parade, enshrinement ceremony for five new Hall of Famers and other festivities in the community.
But why is Canton the Hall of Fame City? Here’s what to know:
Did professional football start in Canton?
No. There was organized professional football in the 1890s in Pennsylvania.
However, on Sept. 17, 1920, America’s most popular professional sports league was born in the Hupmobile showroom of Canton Bulldogs owner Ralph Hay in downtown Canton. Today, the Frank T. Bow Building at 201 Cleveland Ave. SW stands at that spot.
Representatives of professional football teams from Canton, Massillon, Akron, Chicago, Cleveland, Muncie and elsewhere held their organizational meeting. The American Professional Football Association was formed before being renamed the National Football League in 1922.
The Canton Bulldogs were also the first two-time champion of the NFL in 1922 and 1923. Jim Thorpe, the first big-name athlete to play pro football, started his pro football career with the Bulldogs, in 1915.
How did the Pro Football Hall of Fame start?
Sometime before 1957, the first conversation about a hall of fame in Canton was held. According to Repository archives, Germane Swanson, a Repository staff member who held several positions over the years, said he called the Cleveland Browns with the idea of a building to commemorate the game’s greatest players.
On Dec. 6, 1959, Repository reporter Chuck Such wrote a story headlined “Pro Football needs Hall of Fame and logical site is here,” the first public proposal of the idea.
When the NFL was ready to name a site, Canton had yet to organize. Former Massillon coach and then-Browns coach Paul Brown was fundamental to Canton being picked. Such and Brown had held talked about the hall. When the time came, Brown got the league to table the decision for a year until Canton got its campaign together.
Such’s story led to community support which helped raise more than $400,000. There was also major contributions from owner of Timken Rollerbearings, Henry Timken, who pledged $250,000. The financial backing, plus the historical case, convinced the NFL to make Canton the home of the Hall of Fame.
On Sept. 7, 1963, that campaign became successful when the Pro Football Hall of Fame opened.
At the 1967 enshrinement ceremony, Brown said, “I have a rather personal interest in the Hall of Fame’s being in Canton. I must say it belongs here, and I’m so very glad I did take a small part in it. The building makes me feel very proud.”
The original hall was a two-building complex with 19,000 square feet of interior space. Over the years, the hall has had several renovations and has transformed into football heaven.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame today
Today, fans can walk through a gallery of bronze busts immortalizing the game’s greatest players — Thorpe, Jim Brown, Joe Namath, Walter Payton, Joe Montana, Barry Sanders and others.
In addition, fans can learn about the evolution of the game, watch films of the NFL’s greatest moments and see mementoes and artifacts.
Is it the only Hall of Fame in Canton?
No. Canton is also home to the Black College Football Hall of Fame, which is housed at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It founded in 2009 by NFL quarterbacks James “Shack” Harris and Doug Williams. There are more than 100 players in the Black College Football Hall of Fame.
Each year, Canton plays host to the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic, a game between two historically Black colleges and universities.
The National High School Football Hall of Fame, which is still being developed, also called Canton home. But the organization relocated to Brook Park in 2025.
The National Inventors Hall of Fame is headquartered in Lake Township. And there is also the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
Includes reporting from Repository staff writer Ed Balint.
Reach Aaron at 330-580-8428 or ahhughes@usatodayco.com. On X: @AaronHughe2
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Ever wonder why the Pro Football Hall of Fame is based in Canton?
Reporting by Aaron Hughes, Canton Repository / The Repository
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By Aaron Hughes, Canton Repository | USA TODAY Network
