Pro Football Hall of Fame honors players and other individuals who made significant contributions to professional football in the United States. The hall is an independent nonprofit organization located in Canton, Ohio.
A Board of Selectors picks players and nonplayers to be inducted into the Hall of Fame each year. A candidate must be retired for at least five years to be eligible. Inductees are honored at ceremonies in Canton. From four to seven candidates are selected each year out of a list of 17 finalists. A candidate must receive 80 percent of the votes to win election.
The Enshrinee Memento Room honors each individual elected to the Hall of Fame. The hall also features the Exhibition Rotunda, where the first 100 years of professional football are chronicled. An Adventure Room exhibits items from today’s football stars and recordholders along with displays telling the story of U.S. professional football leagues other than the NFL. There is also a Super Bowl Room, an interactive exhibition area, and a theater showing NFL game films.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame opened in 1963. It has been expanded several times. In 2019, the Black College Football Hall of Fame (BCFHOF) moved to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.
Canton was selected as the site of the Hall of Fame largely because the American Professional Football Association was founded there in 1920. The association was the forerunner of the National Football League.
