A TREASURE HOUSE OF FOOTBALL
Marching bands blare as football fans cheer the colorful parade. It’s
1963 in Canton, Ohio, and football fans really have something to
celebrate! It’s the opening and dedication of the National Professional
Football Hall of Fame. It was here, in Canton, that the American
Football Association was organized in 1920. Later, it became the NFL,
the National Football League.
Seventeen football heroes are being honored. Bronze busts of these
players have been placed in the Hall of Fame. Nearby, life-sized
sketches show them punting, passing, running, tackling. Each year since
1963, new members have been elected to the Hall of Fame.
In the Exhibition Rotunda, on the second floor, visitors can watch
movies of championship games and other exciting football moments. They
can also pick up a phone and hear tape-recorded messages from such
memorable players as Jim Thorpe, “Red” Grange, and Byron “Whizzer”
White.
The Rotunda also has a collection of trophies, uniforms, and other
belongings of famous football players and teams. A library is stacked
with books, programs, schedules, and other material about football.
All in all, the National Professional Football Hall of Fame is a real
treasure house of football for football fans everywhere.
