HALL OF FAMERS IN FLORIDA

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is located in Canton, Ohio, for three primary reasons: (1) the American Professional Football Association, later renamed the National Football League, was founded in Canton on Sept. 17, 1920; (2) the Canton Bulldogs were an early pro football power, even before the days of the NFL. They were also the first two-time champion of the NFL, in 1922 and 1923. The great Jim Thorpe, the first big-name athlete to play pro football, played his first pro football with the Bulldogs, starting in 1915; (3) Canton citizens early in the 1960s launched a determined and well-organized campaign to earn the site designation for their city.

The National Football League awarded the site for the Hall of Fame to Canton in 1961. Groundbreaking for the original construction took place on Aug. 11, 1962, and the Hall opened its doors for the first time on Sept. 7, 1963. Four expansions were completed over the years (1971, 1978, 1995 and 2012-13) that have resulted in the museum growing from its original 19,000 square feet to today’s 118,000-square-foot football facility.

Any fan may nominate any player, coach or contributor who has been connected with pro football simply by writing to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The only restriction is that a player and coach must have been retired at least five years before he can be considered. There is no mandatory retirement period for a contributor before he may be considered. Every nomination of an eligible candidate received will be processed and forwarded to the Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee.

Each year, the Selection Committee will be polled three times before the Final List of Preliminary Nominees is determined. The Initial Preliminary List of nominations is compiled and sent to the Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee by March 1. The list is provided so that the selectors can study the nominees and then request the addition of any other candidates that may have been overlooked. Included on this list are first-time eligible candidates who have strong enough credentials to give them even a remote chance of eventual Hall of Fame election. Also included are all other eligible candidates nominated by any person. Additionally, those modern-era nominees from the previous year’s final preliminary list who received at least four votes in the balloting to determine the modern-era finalists are automatically included on this preliminary list.

The Second Preliminary List is sent to the selectors during the month of September that includes all the nominees named on the earlier list plus any additional nominations received from any source since the first list was compiled.

The Third Preliminary List of eligible candidates is sent to the Selection Committee during the month of October for the purpose of the selection of the Modern Era semi-finalists for election. From the Third Preliminary List the Selection Committee is asked to vote for 25 Modern Era Semifinalists.

The Final Preliminary List of 25 modern-era candidates will be distributed to the Selection Committee during the month of November for the purpose of the selection of 15 Modern Era Nominees. The 16th, 17th, and 18th finalists are the recommended candidates of the Seniors Committee.

In advance of the Hall of Fame Selection Meeting in February, the selectors are provided detailed biographies on each of the 18 finalist candidates. At the annual meeting, each of the nominees is thoroughly discussed by the committee before a series of reduction votes are taken. First, the senior candidate(s) and Contributor candidate(s) are discussed and voted on for election. They must receive the same 80 percent affirmative vote as the modern-era candidates. Next, there is a vote that reduces the modern-era finalists list from 15 to 10. Following that, a vote is taken to reduce the list from 10 to 5 names. The five remaining candidates for Hall of Fame election are then voted on individually (yes or no) for membership.

In order to be elected a finalist must receive a minimum of 80% of the vote. All ballots are collected and counted by the firm Deloitte & Touche. No vote totals are announced – only the winners of the various reduction ballots are revealed to the selectors and the Hall’s representatives.

Founded in 1951 by the National Football Foundation, the College Football Hall of Fame immortalizes the greatest of the amateur gridiron. 5.1 million people have coached or played the game and less than 1,300 are inductees in the Hall. This makes the College Football Hall of Fame an extremely selective group of individuals.

Originally slated to be built on the Rutgers University campus – home of the first college football game in 1869 – the Hall ultimately found its first home in Kings Mills, Ohio in 1978. The Ohio location closed in 1992 and the Hall relocated to South Bend, Indiana where it resided from 1995 to 2012.

In 2014, the College Football Hall of Fame opened in Atlanta, a major hub of college football activity, a convention and tourist destination, and home of one of the nation’s busiest airports. It’s a $68.5 million, 95,000 square foot, state-of-the-art tribute to 977 players, 211 coaches, and countless fans.

Located in the heart of Atlanta’s sports, tourism and entertainment districts, the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame is steps away from the iconic Centennial Olympic Park and surrounded by other attractions including the World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia Aquarium, CNN Center, and much more.

In addition to celebrating the best of college football, the Hall serves as one of the most unique and popular private event spaces in Atlanta. The Hall also provides a platform for character development initiatives, community outreach and education throughout the city. To see what events we have, look here.

Three floors, five themed galleries and over 50 interactive exhibits, including a 47-yard football field and a three-story wall of over 750 college football helmets, awaits visitors. Purchase your tickets and visit the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame today.

• FIRST AND FOREMOST, A PLAYER MUST HAVE RECEIVED FIRST-TEAM ALL-AMERICA RECOGNITION BY A SELECTOR RECOGNIZED BY THE NCAA AND UTILIZED TO COMPRISE THEIR CONSENSUS ALL-AMERICA TEAMS.
• A player becomes eligible for consideration by the NFF's Honors Courts 10 full seasons after his last year of intercollegiate football played.
• While each nominee's football achievements in college are of prime consideration, his post-football record as a citizen is also weighed. He must have proven himself worthy as a citizen, carrying the ideals of football forward into his relations with his community and fellow man. Consideration may also be given for academic honors and whether or not the candidate earned a college degree.
• Players must have played their last year of intercollegiate football within the last 50 years.* For example, to be eligible for the 2024 ballot, the player must have played his last year in 1974 or thereafter. In addition, players who are playing professionally and coaches who are coaching on the professional level are not eligible until after they retire.
• A coach becomes eligible three full seasons after retirement or immediately following retirement provided he is at least 70 years old. Active coaches become eligible at 75 years of age. He must have been a head football coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage.
• * Players who do not comply with the 50-year rule may still be eligible for consideration by the Football Bowl Subdivision and Divisional Veterans Committees. Veterans Committee candidates must still meet First Team All-America requirement.

The Black College Football Hall of Fame was founded in 2009 by African-American pioneers, quarterbacks James Harris and Doug Williams to preserve the history and honor the greatest football players, coaches and contributors from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). There have been 90 Inductees since inception, including Mel Blount, James Harris, Willie Lanier, Art Shell and Doug Williams, who serve as Trustees.

The Black College Football Hall of Fame is presented annually by The Shack Harris & Doug Williams Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt organization.

The Black College Football Hall of Fame is located inside of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

The Arena Football Hall of Fame is the official Hall of Fame of the Arena Football League (AFL). The inaugural class was announced in 1998 and the Hall 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. The league began to decline in 2015, so no Hall of Fame announcements have been made since this year. The league folded for a second time in 2019. After the league's second closure, ArenaFan, a long-running fan site, announced it had taken over operations of the Arena Football Hall of Fame.

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 have been 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 rather contribution to the significant advancement of the AFL.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is located in Canton, Ohio, for three primary reasons: (1) the American Professional Football Association, later renamed the National Football League, was founded in Canton on Sept. 17, 1920; (2) the Canton Bulldogs were an early pro football power, even before the days of the NFL. They were also the first two-time champion of the NFL, in 1922 and 1923. The great Jim Thorpe, the first big-name athlete to play pro football, played his first pro football with the Bulldogs, starting in 1915; (3) Canton citizens early in the 1960s launched a determined and well-organized campaign to earn the site designation for their city.

The National Football League awarded the site for the Hall of Fame to Canton in 1961. Groundbreaking for the original construction took place on Aug. 11, 1962, and the Hall opened its doors for the first time on Sept. 7, 1963. Four expansions were completed over the years (1971, 1978, 1995 and 2012-13) that have resulted in the museum growing from its original 19,000 square feet to today’s 118,000-square-foot football facility.

Any fan may nominate any player, coach or contributor who has been connected with pro football simply by writing to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The only restriction is that a player and coach must have been retired at least five years before he can be considered. There is no mandatory retirement period for a contributor before he may be considered. Every nomination of an eligible candidate received will be processed and forwarded to the Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee.

Each year, the Selection Committee will be polled three times before the Final List of Preliminary Nominees is determined. The Initial Preliminary List of nominations is compiled and sent to the Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee by March 1. The list is provided so that the selectors can study the nominees and then request the addition of any other candidates that may have been overlooked. Included on this list are first-time eligible candidates who have strong enough credentials to give them even a remote chance of eventual Hall of Fame election. Also included are all other eligible candidates nominated by any person. Additionally, those modern-era nominees from the previous year’s final preliminary list who received at least four votes in the balloting to determine the modern-era finalists are automatically included on this preliminary list.

The Second Preliminary List is sent to the selectors during the month of September that includes all the nominees named on the earlier list plus any additional nominations received from any source since the first list was compiled.

The Third Preliminary List of eligible candidates is sent to the Selection Committee during the month of October for the purpose of the selection of the Modern Era semi-finalists for election. From the Third Preliminary List the Selection Committee is asked to vote for 25 Modern Era Semifinalists.

The Final Preliminary List of 25 modern-era candidates will be distributed to the Selection Committee during the month of November for the purpose of the selection of 15 Modern Era Nominees. The 16th, 17th, and 18th finalists are the recommended candidates of the Seniors Committee.

In advance of the Hall of Fame Selection Meeting in February, the selectors are provided detailed biographies on each of the 18 finalist candidates. At the annual meeting, each of the nominees is thoroughly discussed by the committee before a series of reduction votes are taken. First, the senior candidate(s) and Contributor candidate(s) are discussed and voted on for election. They must receive the same 80 percent affirmative vote as the modern-era candidates. Next, there is a vote that reduces the modern-era finalists list from 15 to 10. Following that, a vote is taken to reduce the list from 10 to 5 names. The five remaining candidates for Hall of Fame election are then voted on individually (yes or no) for membership.

In order to be elected a finalist must receive a minimum of 80% of the vote. All ballots are collected and counted by the firm Deloitte & Touche. No vote totals are announced – only the winners of the various reduction ballots are revealed to the selectors and the Hall’s representatives.

Founded in 1951 by the National Football Foundation, the College Football Hall of Fame immortalizes the greatest of the amateur gridiron. 5.1 million people have coached or played the game and less than 1,300 are inductees in the Hall. This makes the College Football Hall of Fame an extremely selective group of individuals.

Originally slated to be built on the Rutgers University campus – home of the first college football game in 1869 – the Hall ultimately found its first home in Kings Mills, Ohio in 1978. The Ohio location closed in 1992 and the Hall relocated to South Bend, Indiana where it resided from 1995 to 2012.

In 2014, the College Football Hall of Fame opened in Atlanta, a major hub of college football activity, a convention and tourist destination, and home of one of the nation’s busiest airports. It’s a $68.5 million, 95,000 square foot, state-of-the-art tribute to 977 players, 211 coaches, and countless fans.

Located in the heart of Atlanta’s sports, tourism and entertainment districts, the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame is steps away from the iconic Centennial Olympic Park and surrounded by other attractions including the World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia Aquarium, CNN Center, and much more.

In addition to celebrating the best of college football, the Hall serves as one of the most unique and popular private event spaces in Atlanta. The Hall also provides a platform for character development initiatives, community outreach and education throughout the city. To see what events we have, look here.

Three floors, five themed galleries and over 50 interactive exhibits, including a 47-yard football field and a three-story wall of over 750 college football helmets, awaits visitors. Purchase your tickets and visit the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame today.

The Black College Football Hall of Fame was founded in 2009 by African-American pioneers, quarterbacks James Harris and Doug Williams to preserve the history and honor the greatest football players, coaches and contributors from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). There have been 90 Inductees since inception, including Mel Blount, James Harris, Willie Lanier, Art Shell and Doug Williams, who serve as Trustees.

The Black College Football Hall of Fame is presented annually by The Shack Harris & Doug Williams Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt organization.

The Black College Football Hall of Fame is located inside of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.