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HISTORY
On
September 17, 1920, a group of men
gathered in downtown Canton, Ohio, at
the Hupmobile showroom of Ralph Hay,
owner of the hometown Bulldogs; the
building is now known as the Frank T.
Bow Federal Building. The result of
that historic meeting was the birth of
the National Football League.
It
seemed logical that a Canton
Repository article published on
December 6, 1959, announcing the need
for a Professional Football Hall of
Fame, marked Canton as the perfect
site. Due to the tremendous efforts of
the late Bill Umstattd, president of the
Timken Company, late Paul Brown,
legendary Cleveland Browns coach, late
Clayton Horn, editor of The
Repository and others, the dream
became a reality. The Greater Canton
(now Canton Regional) Chamber or
Commerce and the Canton Junior Chamber
of Commerce (now the Jaycees) supported
the idea and these men in their
efforts.
After nearly two years of planning,
they finally broke ground on August 11,
1962. Henry Stuhldreher of Massillon,
the late quarterback of the legendary
Notre Dame “Four Horsemen”, served as
the master of ceremonies along with help
from Pete Rozelle, former NFL
commissioner and other dignitaries.
Following the ceremony, the New York
Giants and St. Louis Cardinals competed
at Fawcett Stadium for 14,000 fans in
the first ever Hall of Fame Game.
THE
HISTORY OF THIS ONE OF A KIND
CELEBRATION!
The
celebration continued to expand in
1963 with the addition of the first
Festival events, thus earning
recognition as “Football’s Greatest
Weekend.” Wives of Cleveland Browns and
Pittsburgh Steelers modeled for a crowd
of 300 at the first Fashion Show
Luncheon on September 5, 1963 at the
downtown Hotel Onesto. The Onesto also
hosted a dance later that evening
sponsored by the Canton Junior Chamber
of Commerce.
Two
days later 40,000 people lined the
streets downtown to watch the premiere
Grand Parade featuring 89 units and 17
bands. Later that same day came the
dedication of the Hall of Fame and the
induction of the first 17 enshrinees
into the Professional Football Hall of
Fame. The charter members included:
Sammy Baugh, Bert Bell, Joe Carr, Dutch
Clark, Red Grange, George Halas, Mel
Hein, Pete Henry, Cal Hubbard, Don
Hutson, Curly Lambeau, Tim Mara, George
Marshall, John Blood McNally, Bronko
Nagurski, Ernie Nevers and Jim Thorpe.
That Sunday, September 8, 1963, CBS
televised the defeat of the Cleveland
Browns by the Pittsburgh Steelers 16-7
in the second Hall of Fame Game.
The
Festival continued to grow and a year
later on September 4, 1964, the
first Mayor’s Breakfast was held at the
Hotel Onesto with 225 in attendance.
The Fashion Show Luncheon was back by
popular demand and was held at the
Mergus Restaurant. The luncheon was
supported by the Fine Arts Associates,
Junior League of Canton and Stark County
Bar Association wives. Once again, the
evening ended with a dance, this time at
Meyers Lake Moonlight Ballroom. The
1964 parade was a great success again
with an estimated 50,000 spectators.
The Baltimore Colts beat the Pittsburgh
Steelers 48-17 the following Sunday
afternoon.
The
year 1965 saw the return of the
Mayor’s Breakfast and Fashion Show
Luncheon at the Mergus Restaurant and
the Jewish Community Center,
respectively. The Grand Parade featured
74 units plus 23 bands and 16 floats, of
which The Timken Company won the Grand
Prize. Actress Jane Russell was Grand
Marshall and led the parade past more
than 150,000 spectators. Saturday
evening 1,100 guests attended the first
Celebrities Banquet (later the
Enshrinees Civic Dinner) at the Meyers
Lake Moonlight Ballroom. That same
evening, Cynthia Hershey, of Perry High
School, was crowned as the inaugural Pro
Football Hall of Fame Festival Queen.
The Coronation Dance was held at
Glenwood High School due to severe
weather at Meyers Lake. Football’s
Greatest Weekend came to a close when
the Washington Redskins defeated the
Detroit Lions 20-3.
Scheduling difficulties prevented the
1966 Hall of Fame game from taking
place, but the festivities continued.
The second annual Coronation Ball took
place at the Moonlight Ballroom at
Meyers Lake with 18 contestants. Kay
Williams was crowned Queen and the
remaining 17 participants served as
members of the Royal Court. The Fashion
Show Luncheon once again changed
location and was held at Nazir Grotto
Hall. The weekend ended with the Grand
Parade, in which The Hoover Company
float took first prize and the
Enshrinement Ceremony was held on the
steps of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
for the first time.
During the 1980’s the Festival
experienced tremendous growth, adding
the following events: Junior Parade
(now Community Parade), 1980; Ribs
Burnoff and Fireworks, 1984; Balloon
Classic Invitational as well as the Drum
Corps Competition, 1985; Kickoff Sunday
Race, 1986 and the Photo Contest, 1989.
The
Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival has
also experienced a lot of exciting
additions in recent years. In 1995,
the Jackson-Belden Chamber of Commerce
and the Canton Regional Chamber of
Commerce worked together to bring the
Jackson-Belden Food Fest and Fireworks
under the umbrella of the Festival. The
event is now held in conjunction with
the Balloon Classic Invitational on the
Kent State University/Stark State
College of Technology campus.
The
Ribs Burnoff expanded from two to three
days in 1997 in order to
accommodate the huge crowds coming to
enjoy the food and free entertainment.
Traditionally, the Burnoff takes place
downtown on Market Avenue and was moved
further south in 1999 due to the
Market Avenue Streetscape Project
renovations. Also in 1999, the AFC-NFC
Hall of Fame Game was featured for the
first time ever on ABC-TV’s Monday
Night Football, resulting in an
expanded Festival schedule. Several new
events were created: the NFL
Experience, golf scramble, and the
GameDay Luncheon (now known as
Enshrinees GameDay Roundtable.
In
the fall of 2002, Festival
officials held a long-range strategic
planning retreat in order to probe all
aspects of festival operations,
rationales, and philosophies, literally
taking the festival apart and putting it
back together again, with the goal of
creating an even stronger and
more successful festival for the
future. Such extensive planning
sessions had never before occurred, and
the timing was perfect, as it
coincided with the NFL and Pro
Football Hall of Fame’s challenge to
compact the weekend into a stronger,
more dynamic experience for the
enshrinees and returning Hall of Famers.
The
most significant results of the session
were initiated with the 2003
Festival, and they included elimination
of the Mayor’s Breakfast, as guests did
not arrive in Canton until later in the
day, and elimination of the traditional
Kickoff Sunday Concert, shifting the
event to a location in downtown Canton
one week later for a concert and huge
fireworks display. In addition, the
Enshrinees Dinner (formerly known as
Enshrinees Civic Dinner) was moved to
Saturday evening, and the Enshrinement
ceremony was moved to Sunday afternoon.
Further, the Ribs Burnoff was shifted to
Thursday (4:00 PM to 10:30 PM), Friday
and Saturday (11:00 AM to 10:30 PM), and
the event was held at the fairgrounds to
allow for growth and enhancements. The
Hall of Fame NFL Experience was part of
the Ribs Burnoff for the first time
ever.
Also
in 2003, for only the second time in the
Festival’s history (the first time being
the year 2000), all 144 living Hall of
Famers were invited to return to Canton
for the Enshrinement weekend and the
celebration of the 40th
anniversary of the Pro Football Hall of
Fame and the Festival; 116 accepted the
invitation and were present to witness
the induction of five new members,
bringing the total number of inductees
to 221.
In
2004, the Ribs Burnoff was held
for the second consecutive year at the
Stark County fairgrounds, and due to the
wonderful response the year before, the
event was expanded to be in operation
all three days from 11:00 AM to 10:30
PM. The Ribs Burnoff was also featured
on The Food Network show “All American
Festivals,” making it the first event in
Ohio to be featured on The Food Network.
An
increased number of tour group guests
enjoyed the 2005 Festival,
including 300 at an off-site Enshrinees
Dinner at the Canton Negro Oldtimers
Activity Center, and 2,000 guests at a
“Pigskin Picnic” on Saturday night at
the Ribs Burnoff. These tour group
participants were in addition to the
traditional 2,000 at the Hoover Grand
Parade and 1,900 at Enshrinees GameDay
Roundtable. This is a shining example of
the partnership and cooperation between
the Hall and the Festival. With the
induction of four more football greats
into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
during the 2005 festivities, the total
number of inductees was 229.
In
2006, an impressive Class of
Enshrinees brought the total number of
inductees to 235. Changes in the 2006
Festival included the AFC-NFC Hall of
Fame Game moving from Monday night to
Sunday night on “NBC Sunday Night NFL
Football” and The Timken Company became
the title sponsor of the Grand Parade.
In order to further reflect the solid
partnership between the Festival and the
Hall of Fame, the Festival’s mission
statement was revised to read as
follows: To work in a spirit of
cooperation with the Pro Football Hall
of Fame to annually organize and present
the Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival
in order to celebrate the induction of
new Enshrinees, encourage continuing
support for the Pro Football Hall of
Fame Museum, provide a positive economic
impact, and promote the spirit of our
community and its people.
A significant change to the 2007
Festival was the opportunity to move the
Enshrinement from an afternoon time slot
to 6 PM, allowing a prime time
television audience. All living members
of the Pro Football Hall of Fame were
invited to return for the ceremony and
surrounding festivities, and
approximately 85 were present. A
capacity crowd at the Enshrinees Dinner
warmly welcomed Roger Goodell, new
commissioner of the National Football
League, who offered congratulations to
the Enshrinees and the entire
Canton/Stark County community for a job
well done.
CELEBRATING 45 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE
In
2008, both the Hall of Fame and
the annual Festival mark their 45th
anniversaries with a renewed commitment
to the partnership and the tradition of
excellence in honoring the legends and
preserving the history of pro football.
In order to more clearly communicate
that the Enshrinement of each new class
of Hall of Famers is the central focus
of the incredibly popular annual
Festival celebration, beginning with the
2008 festivities, the Festival name will
be enhanced to “Pro Football Hall of
Fame Enshrinement Festival.” While
the Pro Football Hall of Fame and annual
Enshrinement Festival have realized
successes well beyond event the most
optimistic of their founding fathers, it
is clear that even great opportunities
still lie ahead!
The
Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement
Festival department of the Canton
Regional Chamber of Commerce enjoys a
huge level of support from members,
volunteers, sponsors, governmental
services, and especially, from the Pro
Football Hall of Fame. A team of more
than 4,200 volunteers work year-round
with the professional staffs at the Hall
and Chamber to plan and stage 15 events
over a ten-day period for the enjoyment
of nearly 700,000 people. The results
of an economic impact survey done during
the 2005 Festival revealed an economic
impact of $26.7 million on Canton/Stark
County and $48.4 million on the State of
Ohio.
Directors of the Pro Football Hall of
Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Enshrinement Festival have collaborated
for the past 45 years in order to make
the Enshrinement Festival the best
celebration possible. Directors of the
Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement
Festival have been: Janice C. Meyer,
Dennis P. Saunier, and presently, Joanne
K. Murray. Directors of the Hall of
Fame have included: the late Dick
McCann, the late Dick Gallagher, Pete
Elliott, John W. Bankert, and currently
Stephen A. Perry, President & Executive
Director.
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