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55-616: The leagues supplied five of the seven members of the Continental Football League "Pacific Division", resulting in leagues disbandment after the 1966 season. It was the second football league (after the United Football League ) to operate teams in both the United States and Canada . The Pacific Football League had a special "8-Point rule", stated that if a team was trailing by eight or more points, they could receive

110-501: A Hall of Fame . The Chicago Bears have the most Hall of Famers among the league's franchises with either 40 or 32 enshrinees depending on whether players that only played a small portion of their careers with the team are counted. Enshrinees are selected by a 50-person committee, largely made up of media members, officially known as the Selection Committee. Each city that has a current NFL team sends one representative from

165-456: A two-way player for the Omaha Mustangs, suffered an in-game injury from which he died four days later; it would be the only fatality in the league's history. The Orange County Ramblers were featured in the 1968 film Skidoo , in a credited role as stand-ins for a nude Green Bay Packers team. The Ramblers offense is seen, from behind, wearing nothing but helmets, during a scene in which

220-506: A fifth room. This expansion was completed on October 1, 1995, and increased the building's size to 82,307 square feet (7,647 m ). The most notable addition was the GameDay Stadium, which shows an NFL Films production on a 20-by-42-foot (6.1 m × 12.8 m) Cinemascope screen. In 2013, the Hall of Fame completed its largest expansion and renovation to date; the total size of

275-408: A final ballot of 18 finalists under consideration by the full committee each year. Committee members are instructed to only consider a candidate's professional football contributions and to disregard all other factors. The Selection Committee then meets on "Selection Saturday", the day before each Super Bowl game to elect a new class. To be elected, a finalist must receive at least 80% support from

330-600: A kickoff from their opponent rather than kickoff. The league commissioner was former Hollywood Stars player Joe Huston with involvement of Frank Leahy Jr. during the 1966 season. The North Pacific Football League featured some notable names, including former Washington Redskins WR Hugh Smith , future Oakland Raiders Chon Gallegos (1965 NCL MVP), Grey Cup champion Pete Ohler , Kermit Jorgensen (two-time league MVP), former Oregon Ducks stars Mike Brundage and Paul Burleson, Raye Renfro and future Humboldt State Lumberjacks football head coach Mike Dolby . After

385-591: A permanent exhibit recognizing the inductees of the Black College Football Hall of Fame . The two organizations partnered in 2016, also creating the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. The Ralph Hay Pioneer Award is an American football award given by the Pro Football Hall of Fame periodically to an individual who has made significant and innovative contributions to professional football. The award

440-619: A player through his work with the Oakland Raiders of the NFL. The Michigan Arrows began their season with a soccer-style kicker named Garo Yepremian , who had played the previous season with the Detroit Lions but had found himself out of work because of military service. Yepremian later found Super Bowl fame in the NFL as a member of the Miami Dolphins . On September 8, 1968, Glen Hepburn ,

495-482: A security guard is hallucinating due to the effects of LSD . W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against  x  = Division Champion Home team in CAPITALS Playoff League Championship (November 30, 1968) Jim Dunn replaced Hill as league commissioner for the 1969 season. The league expanded into Texas by absorbing

550-515: A total of 378 members of the Hall of Fame. Between four and nine new inductees are normally enshrined every year. For the 2020 class, a 20-person group consisting of five modern-era players and an additional 15 members, known as the "Centennial Slate", were elected to the Hall of Fame to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the NFL. The Chicago Bears have the most inductees, with 34 (42, including players with minor portion of their career with team). The city of Canton, Ohio , successfully lobbied

605-499: Is named after Canton Bulldogs owner and National Football League founder and chief organizer Ralph Hay . It was originally called the Daniel F. Reeves Pioneer Award, named after Los Angeles Rams owner and hall of fame inductee Dan Reeves . The award is the highest and the most prestigious honor given by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, other than enshrinement. As of 2022, Steve Sabol , Art McNally , Marion Motley and Bill Willis are

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660-535: Is the hall of fame for professional American football , located in Canton, Ohio . Opened on September 7, 1963 , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coaches, officials, franchise owners, and front-office personnel, almost all of whom made their primary contributions to the game in the National Football League (NFL). As of 2024 , there are

715-490: Is the main event of the annual Enshrinement Week Powered by Johnson Controls that kicks off every NFL season. The celebration is held in Canton, throughout the week surrounding the enshrinement ceremony. All members of the Hall of Fame are invited to attend the annual ceremony. Enshrinees do not go into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of a certain team. Rather, all of an enshrinee's affiliations are listed equally. While

770-685: Is the only inductee in the Hall to have experience as an in-game official. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum , Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Hockey Hall of Fame have each inducted game officials as members. Another prominent absence from the Hall is sports-journalist and broadcaster Howard Cosell , who has yet to either be awarded the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award or even get fully inducted despite his well-known association with Monday Night Football ; an August 2010 Sports Illustrated article hints that Cosell may have even been "blacklisted" by

825-527: 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 and Greg Maddux ), 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 Gold Jacket, and previous inductees nearly always wear theirs when participating at

880-616: The NFL to have the Hall of Fame built in Canton, citing three reasons. First, the NFL was founded in Canton on September 17, 1920 , (at that time it was known as the American Professional Football Association ). Second, the now-defunct Canton Bulldogs were a successful pro football team and the NFL's first repeat champion (in 1922 and 1923 ). Third, the Canton community held a fundraising effort that garnered nearly $ 400,000 (equivalent to $ 3,086,000 in 2023) to get

935-841: The National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). It owed its name, at least in part, to the Continental League , a proposed third Major League Baseball organization that influenced MLB significantly, although they never played a game. Four Continental Football League contributors are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame , the most of any league not considered a major league: coach Bill Walsh , quarterback Ken Stabler , Doak Walker and Steve Van Buren (the last two of whom were inducted as players but were coaches in this league). Sam Wyche , Bob Kuechenberg , Garo Yepremian and Otis Sistrunk were among

990-589: The Pacific Football League to its ranks - Eugene Bombers ( Oregon ), Seattle Rangers ( Washington ) and Victoria Steelers ( British Columbia ), while the rest of the division comprised from four minor-league teams in California . The Pacific Division was basically a league-within-a-league and played exclusively against other Pacific Division opponents. The remaining teams in the league split into an Atlantic North Division and an Atlantic South Division. Two of

1045-586: The Texas Football League , which also brought the first and, to date, only team from Mexico to play in a professional American football league, the Mexico Golden Aztecs (whose owner, Red McCombs , would later buy the NFL's Minnesota Vikings ). Midway through the season, the Hawaii franchise moved to Portland, Oregon . The COFL entered the 1969 season with high hopes. That optimism was exemplified by

1100-713: The "seniors" category. There has also been criticism that deserving players have been overlooked because they played most or all of their careers on poor teams. In 2009, a New York Times article criticized the Hall for not including punter Ray Guy on its ballot. Guy was eventually inducted as part of the 2014 class for the Hall of Fame. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is unique among North American major league sports halls of fame in that officials have been generally excluded. Only two figures, both inducted for their work as supervisor or director of officiating as opposed to game officiating—1966 inductee Hugh "Shorty" Ray and 2022 inductee Art McNally —have been enshrined; McNally

1155-511: The 1966 season Eugene Bombers , Sacramento Lancers , San Jose Apaches , Seattle Ramblers and Victoria Steelers joined the newly formed Continental Football League "Pacific Division". Portland Thunderbirds declined an opportunity to join the CoFL due to financial concerns. The Bellingham Jets dropped out of the league mid-season and forfeited the last four games. It was the first year that two leagues coexist. Edmonds Warriors finished first in

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1210-556: The Centennial Slate elected to the Hall of Fame in 2020 are: Jim Covert , Winston Hill , Harold Carmichael , Duke Slater , Ed Sprinkle , Steve Sabol , Alex Karras , Bobby Dillon , Donnie Shell , George Young , Cliff Harris , Mac Speedie , and former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue . They were enshrined in 2021 due to COVID-19, but are still considered part of the Centennial Class of 2020. The enshrinement ceremony

1265-489: The Committee. At least four, but no more than nine, candidates are elected annually. In 2020, a special Blue-Ribbon Panel selected an additional 15 new members, known as the Centennial Slate, to be inducted into the Hall of Fame to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the NFL. Among these 15 members, ten would be seniors. On January 11, during the weekend of the NFL divisional playoffs, Hall of Fame president David Baker went on

1320-616: The Dodgers affiliated with the Liberty Football Conference's Long Island Jets in 1966).  x  = Division Champion  y  = Clinched playoff berth Home team in CAPITALS Semifinals League Championship (December 4, 1966) Atlantic North Division Atlantic South Division Western Division The COFL added a Pacific Division for the 1967 season, adding three teams from

1375-493: The Hall of Fame Game. In 2022, the ceremony was moved to noon ET. The Hall of Fame Game, the annual NFL preseason opener, is played in Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium at Hall of Fame Village in Canton, Ohio . In 2017, the Hall of Fame Game was held for the first time on Thursday night. The preseason classic kicks off Enshrinement Week and marks the start of the NFL preseason . The Pro Football Hall of Fame museum includes

1430-420: The Hall of Fame built. Groundbreaking for the building was held on August 11, 1962, and the Hall of Fame was opened to the public on September 7, 1963. The original building contained just two rooms and 19,000 square feet (1,800 m ) of interior space. In April 1970 , ground was broken for the first of many expansions. This first expansion cost $ 620,000, and was completed on May 10, 1971 . The size

1485-638: The Hall without having made significant contributions to either the NFL, AFL, or All-America Football Conference . For CFL stars, there is a corresponding Canadian Football Hall of Fame ; only one player, Warren Moon , and two coaches, Bud Grant and Marv Levy , are enshrined in both halls. Again for the Arena Football League, there is also a corresponding Arena Football Hall of Fame ; similarly, only one player, Kurt Warner , has been enshrined into both halls. The Indoor Football League , in which Terrell Owens played one season, has also established

1540-653: The Kats disbanded mid-season failing to score in any league games, became Rugby club and forfeited the last four games. NCL Championship Game: San Jose 7, Redwood City 6 Portland Thunderbirds signed a working agreement with the Denver Broncos for players development. The Bombers chose not to play the 1966 PFL playoffs due to financial concerns. Pacific Coast Championship Game Pacific Football League vs. Northern California League Seattle Ramblers 48, San Jose Apaches 13 Kermit Jorgensen (RB, Seattle) won

1595-465: The NFL or AFL. The first COFL season opened with three games played on August 14, 1965. Before the season began, the Springfield, Massachusetts , franchise moved to Norfolk, Virginia . The Norfolk club went on to become the most successful team in the league at the box office and held several minor league attendance records throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Eastern Division Western Division In 1966,

1650-644: The NFL's San Francisco 49ers . W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against  x  = Division Champion Home team in CAPITALS Atlantic Playoff League Championship (December 10, 1967) Atlantic Division Central Division Pacific Division In February 1968, the COFL merged with the Professional Football League of America (PFLA), in order to expand into

1705-453: The NFL. As the late 2010s approached, a number of controversial and polarizing figures began to reach eligibility for the Hall. For example, Darren Sharper 's career achievements make him a candidate for the Hall, but there is debate over whether he should be inducted due to his conviction on multiple rape and drug distribution charges after he retired. Official guidelines state that off the field character issues are not allowed to influence

North Pacific Football League - Misplaced Pages Continue

1760-452: The NFL; Shaw 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 , United States Football League , Arena Football League and/or Indoor Football League experience, and there is a division of the Hall devoted to alternative leagues such as these, to this point no player, coach or contributor have made

1815-535: The Northern Pacific Football League MVP title. Continental Football League The Continental Football League ( COFL ) was a professional American football minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League , and hoped to become the major force in professional football outside

1870-690: The Orlando Panthers' bidding for the services of the 1968 Heisman Trophy winner, halfback O. J. Simpson of the University of Southern California (USC). The Panthers made an offer of $ 400,000 (nearly double the entire team's salary) for Simpson to play for the Panthers if his negotiations with the Buffalo Bills fell through; they did not, and Simpson signed with Buffalo for the 1969 season. Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame

1925-501: The PFL and San Jose Apaches won NCL title after beating Redwood City Ramblers in the league final. Kermit Jorgensen (RB, Edmonds) and Chon Gallegos (QB, San Jose) won their respective league MVP titles. Frank Leahy Jr., son of the former Notre Dame coach , was appointed head coach for Lake Oswego Thunderbirds. The North Pacific Football League changed its name to Northwest International Football League after adding Canada's Vancouver Kats. Alas,

1980-551: The final two AFL-NFL World Championship games. In November 1977, work began on another expansion project, costing $ 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 m ), more than 2.5 times the original size. The building remained largely unchanged until July 1993. The Hall then announced yet another expansion, costing $ 9,200,000, and adding

2035-582: The franchise to become a league-operated "road club" in October; one home game against Hartford was moved to Connecticut, and their final "home" contest was shifted to Memorial Stadium in Mount Vernon, New York . Charleston's Coy Bacon , 1966 COFL All-Star end, went on to play for the NFL's Los Angeles Rams , San Diego Chargers , Cincinnati Bengals and Washington Redskins . The league also established farm team relationships with semi-pro clubs (for instance,

2090-416: The gate. Part of the problem was that they were playing nowhere near Brooklyn: their home games were at Downing Stadium on Randall's Island . Evidently, the Dodgers had trouble securing home dates at Downing; a season-ticket application showed only five home games in a fourteen-game schedule. In any event, small crowds (only 29,500 combined for four games, including 12,000 for an exhibition contest) caused

2145-419: The hall is now 118,000 square feet (11,000 m ). Hall of Fame Village, an estimated $ 900 million expansion project adjacent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, completed Phase I of construction in 2022, a Phase II is planned, although no news has been put out recently. Through 2022, all players in the Hall, except Buffalo Bills guard Billy Shaw , played at least some part of their professional career in

2200-504: The league began abandoning the "league autonomy" posture by striving to establish working relationships with NFL and AFL clubs. Commissioner Chandler, charging that the league was altering the terms under which he had accepted the position, resigned on January 20, 1966. He was replaced by COFL Secretary Sol Rosen, owner of the Newark Bears. Rosen sold the Bears to Tom Granatell, who promptly moved

2255-493: The list to 25 semi-finalists. In November, the committee then selects 15 finalists by mail balloting. A Seniors and Contributors Committee, subcommittees of the overall Selection Committee, nominate Seniors (those players who completed their careers more than 25 years ago) and Contributors (individuals who made contributions to the game in areas other than playing or coaching). The Seniors Committee and Contributors Committee add one or two finalist(s) on alternating years, which makes

North Pacific Football League - Misplaced Pages Continue

2310-556: The local media to the committee; a city with more than one franchise sends one representative for each franchise. There are also 15 at-large delegates, including 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. To be eligible for

2365-604: The midwestern United States. The Quad City Raiders franchise moved to become the Las Vegas Cowboys after losing their first two games. Danny Hill succeeded Rosen as COFL commissioner. Hill established a weekly payroll ceiling of $ 200 per player and $ 5,000 per team. Ken Stabler played two games for the Spokane Shockers in 1968. Stabler later became the Continental league's first Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee as

2420-481: The new inductee ceremonies. Previous induction ceremonies were held during the next day (Sunday from 1999 to 2005, Saturday in 2006), situated on the steps of the Hall of Fame building. Starting in 2002, the ceremony was moved to Fawcett Stadium (now Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium ), where it was held from 1963 to 1965. Since 2007, the enshrinement ceremony has been held on the Saturday night, since 2017 two days after

2475-585: The nominating process, a player or coach must have been retired for at least five years; any other contributor such as a team owner or executive can be voted in at any time. Fans may nominate any player, coach or contributor by simply writing via letter or email to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Selection Committee is then polled three times by mail (once in March, once in September, and once in October) to eventually narrow

2530-425: The only people to receive the award and also become a Hall of Fame inductee. The small number of candidates elected each year has helped foster what some perceive as an inequality of representation at certain positions or in certain categories of player, to the exclusion of defensive players in general ( defensive backs and outside linebackers in particular), special teams players, wide receivers , and those from

2585-682: The other players and coaches who would later gain fame in the NFL, while a few others, such as Don Jonas and Tom Wilkinson , would emerge as stars in the Canadian Football League . The formation of the Continental Football League (COFL) was announced on February 6, 1965. The league was primarily formed by minor-league teams that had played in the United Football League and Atlantic Coast Football League . A. B. "Happy" Chandler , former Kentucky governor , U.S. senator , and retired Major League Baseball commissioner ,

2640-443: The set of The NFL Today to personally tell Bill Cowher , who was working as an analyst on that pregame show, that he was selected as one of the members of the Centennial Slate. One day later, Baker went on the set of Fox NFL Sunday to inform Jimmy Johnson , working as an analyst on Fox's studio show, that he was also selected. The rest of the Centennial Slate members were revealed on January 15. The remaining 13 members of

2695-650: The small western franchises, in Eugene, Oregon , and San Jose, California , left the league after the season, while the franchise in Long Beach only played one game before folding. The Toronto Rifles actually folded mid-season , under unusual circumstances: the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League raided the Rifles roster and signed away the Rifles head coach, starting quarterback and starting running back, leaving

2750-684: The team afloat; Hurn never paid the either the coaches or players for their services, and the Wheeling Ironmen ended up paying the Vulcans' salaries for what would be the Vulcans' fourth and final game in order to avoid a strike . Hurn would later amass a long record of criminal activity after his time in Akron. Such instability marked the season for the COFL, particularly because the league could not improve upon its overall "semi-pro" public image. Inability to establish working relationships with NFL and AFL teams

2805-567: The team to Orlando. The league engaged in some unsuccessful preseason negotiations with the Empire Sports Network to obtain a television broadcasting agreement. However, it was able to get ABC to broadcast the championship game on the Wide World of Sports ; ABC paid the league $ 500 for the rights to the game. The Brooklyn Dodgers, although under the general managership of baseball Dodgers player Jackie Robinson , failed to attract at

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2860-637: The team unable to continue. The remnants of the Brooklyn Dodgers were sold to Frank Hurn, who moved the team to Akron, Ohio as the Akron Vulcans. Hurn used only $ 2,000 of his own money and $ 50,000 of Chicago Outfit funding to buy the team and swindled numerous businessmen into providing lavish benefits for his team for which he would never pay. Under Hurn, the team lost $ 100,000 after just three weeks of play, forcing his big-budget head coaches, Doak Walker and Lou Rymkus , to front their own money to keep

2915-405: Was a contributing factor. The league's breakthrough television contract with the upstart United Network was another: the network ended up folding prior to the 1967 season it was supposed to broadcast, leaving the COFL without a television partner yet again. The San Jose Apaches in 1967 were coached by Bill Walsh , who later achieved great success as the three-time Super Bowl -winning coach of

2970-417: Was increased to 34,000 square feet (3,200 m ) 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

3025-538: Was named COFL commissioner on March 17, 1965. The league originally adopted a "professional" appearance. Teams were sorted into two divisions and each team had a 36-man roster with a five-man "taxi" squad . The rules were primarily those of the NFL except that a "sudden death" overtime period was employed to break ties, which was not part of the NFL during the regular season at that time. To reinforce an image of league autonomy, teams were restricted from loaning players to, or receiving optioned players from,

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