Published: November 21, 2008 09:49 am            

TRAVEL: Pigskin paradise in Canton

Driving up to the Pro Football Hall of Fame just off of Route 77 in western Ohio, one thought quickly pops into mind.

The hall is here? Really?

The rather inconspicuous structure is settled in the middle of an Everytown neighborhood, with teens from the houses across the street likely to be playing pickup football on the field that rests adjacent to the entrance to the parking lot.

While not as awe-inspiring as its baseball and hockey counterparts, the football hall does not trail those other structures in terms of interest. Celebrating its 45th anniversary this year, the hall has been expanded three times since it opened in 1963 in this city of roughly 78,300 residents in northeast Ohio, which was home to one of the game’s earliest powerhouse squads in the Canton Bulldogs. Thousands of artifacts are housed in an 83,000-square-foot building that most closely resembles a citrus juicer.

The football hall squeezes a lot into that relatively small space, starting with a brief history of the pro game. Among early artifacts are a 19th century leather helmet (which is not even as padded as the side of a sneaker) and early pro contracts, which had game salaries hidden among other payments so as to disguise players’ professional status (which was taboo at the time). Stashed among the mementos is the shoe worn by former Buffalo Bills placekicker Steve Christie during the “Comeback Game,” the Bills’ 41-38 overtime playoff victory over the Houston Oilers in 1993 during which Buffalo overcame a 35-3 deficit.

From there, visitors are ushered into a room that houses displays on each of the league’s 32 current teams. Each billboard offers a write-up on the franchise’s beginnings, record-holders, championships and other important information.

Football buffs could spend hours here learning the ins and outs of every team, but it’s in the next room where they could get lost for an entire day. The Hall of Fame Gallery is where the bronze busts of the hall members are housed, including seven former Bills (seeing “Miami Dolphins” next to Thurman Thomas’ name remains a painful footnote to his career).

With every detail from forehead wrinkles to hair parts etched into the metal, these busts can’t help but take the breath of even non-football fans. Touch screen kiosks allow users to access bios, video clips and other information on all hall members, particularly useful for those members who played in the sport’s pioneer days.

While this room is the most admirable, the Pro Football Adventure Room next door contains the most intriguing displays. This room houses detailed statistics and write-ups on the many pro leagues that challenged the National Football League, including the All-American Football Conference and United States Football League (Jim Kelly’s Houston Gamblers jersey hangs in this display). Also in this room is a large chart chronicling the year-by-year records of every team that ever played a game in the NFL, including the Tonawanda Kardex, who posted an 0-1 record in 1921 before folding.

Up next is the Moments, Memories and Mementos Gallery, which focuses on the achievements of the hall’s members. Several kiosks display game-used equipment with an accompanying touch screen, which offers details on the item in question. Among the items in these displays is the ball caught by James Lofton when he set the all-time receiving yardage record while with the Bills.

Farther into this gallery is a room featuring some of the sport’s most treasured trophies and an area focused on notable football twosomes, which includes a kiosk devoted to Thomas and former Detroit Lion Barry Sanders, who were college teammates at Oklahoma State in what was probably the best academic backfield in the game’s history. Just past this area is a set-up featuring simulated lockers of several notable players, including Kelly once again (he has several other artifacts on display throughout the museum and seems to be among the most-featured hall members).

Local football fans might want to bypass the Super Bowl Room (which features artifacts from all 42 contests and a chronological display of each year’s championship ring) to get to the interactive area on the ground floor, which also features a new display on the Arena Football League.

Depending on the day and time, museum curators will occasionally offer exhibitions in the hallways featuring rarely seen artifacts (a piece of the roof from the former Metrodome in Minneapolis, for example). A turntable theater also features a continuously running movie throughout the day.

The hall could still stand to devote more space to the game’s origins, but there are more than enough worthwhile artifacts to make the trek valuable for football fans. Canton may not be one’s first choice for a day trip destination, but much like its baseball counterpart in Cooperstown, it’s worth digging out the map or GPS to find.

Contact editor Paul Laneat 693-1000, ext. 116.



IF YOU GO

• WHAT: Pro Football Hall of Fame

• WHERE: 2121 George Halas Drive NW, Canton, Ohio

• HOURS: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily

• MORE INFORMATION: Call (330) 456-8207 or visit profootballhof.com

• PAUL’S TIPS:

1. Be sure to leave some time to take part in the interactive exhibits scattered throughout the hall, including informational touch screens and a room near the hall exit that includes a trivia challenge and video game displays.

2. If you don’t eat before you get there, don’t worry. The hall’s snack bar is surprisingly affordable and offers a decent selection; yes, the food is good, also.

3. Consider staying in Canton or elsewhere in the vicinity the night before your visit. Canton is about a four-hour drive from Western New York, and with the hall closing at 5 p.m. daily that would only leave a few hours to visit should you decide to go there the morning of your intended visit.



• Visit the Life in the Slow Lane blog to read about Tonawanda's brief stay in the National Football League Life in the Slow Lane

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.