The Hall of Fame, with Benson Stadium in the background
September 7, 1963: The Pro Football Hall of Fame opens in Canton, Ohio, about 55 miles south of Cleveland. The location was chosen because the National Football League was founded in the city in 1920.
The opening includes an induction ceremony, with 17 charter members of the Hall:
* George "Papa Bear" Halas, founder, owner, coach, end, Chicago Bears -- yes, he played.
* Joseph F. Carr, founder, Columbus Panhandles; NFL President, 1921-39.
* Earl "Curly" Lambeau, founder, owner, coach, running back, Green Bay Packers.
* Bert Bell, founder, owner, Philadelphia Eagles; Commissioner, 1946-59.
* George Preston Marshall, founder, owner, Washington Redskins.
* Jim Thorpe, running back, Canton Bulldogs; figurehead league President, 1920.
* Wilbur "Pete" or "Fats" Henry, tackle, Canton Bulldogs.
* Harold "Red" Grange, "the Galloping Ghost," running back, Chicago Bears.
* Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski, running back, Chicago Bears.
* Ernie Nevers, running back, Chicago Cardinals.
* Earl "Dutch" Clark, quarterback, Detroit Lions.
* Cal Hubbard, tackle, Green Bay Packers -- also in Baseball Hall as umpire.
* Don Hutson, receiver, Green Bay Packers.
* John "Johnny Blood" McNally, running back, Green Bay Packers.
* Mel Hein, center, New York Giants.
* "Slingin'" Sammy Baugh, quarterback, Washington Redskins.
Carr had died in 1939, Henry in 1952, Thorpe in 1953, Bell and Mara in 1959. The rest were alive and on hand for the ceremony. Lambeau died in 1965, Marshall in 1969, Hubbard in 1977, Clark in 1978, Halas in 1983, McNally in 1985, Nagurski in 1990, Grange in 1991, Hein in 1992, Hutson in 1997, and Baugh was the last survivor, living until 2008.
Halas, McNally and Grange would be interviewed in 1976 for an NFL Films production about the early days of the game, titled Old Leather.
Hubbard was also elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, as an umpire. He is the only member of both of those Halls of Fame.
So Mara and Hein -- and, while they only briefly played for Big Blue, Thorpe, Henry and Hubbard -- were the first New York Giants in the Hall of Fame. The first New York Jet? Coach Weeb Ewbank, elected 1978. The first Jet player, as you might guess, was Joe Namath, in 1985.
Another Giant, 1950s safety Emlen Tunnell, once the NFL's all-time leader in interceptions, was elected in 1967, making him the 1st black player elected.
It's "The Pro Football Hall of Fame," not "The National Football League Hall of Fame." Yet there is one player in it who never played in the NFL: Billy Shaw, who played 9 seasons as a guard for the Buffalo Bills, all in the American Football League of the 1960s before the merger with the NFL.
Some players in the Hall had significant performances in the AFL, the All-America Football Conference of the late 1940s, the United States Football League of the early 1980s, and the Canadian Football League. However, no player who only played in the CFL has been elected to Canton. (As with "Cooperstown" for baseball, the Hall's location, "Canton," has become a byword for the Hall itself.)
Each member of the Hall is given a yellow jacket with the Hall of Fame logo on it, similar to the green jacket worn by the winners of the Masters golf tournament; and a bronze bust of himself, a copy of which goes into the Hall of Fame Gallery. Because of the criminal charges against him, O.J. Simpson is the one member whose bust cannot be displayed, for fear of vandalism.
The address of the Hall of Fame is 2121 George Halas Drive NW. Adjacent is Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, site of the annual season-opening exhibition Hall of Fame Game. Formerly Fawcett Stadium, it was renamed for the late New Orleans Saints owner, who funded its renovation.
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September 7, 1963 was a Saturday. The college football season started the next week. So did the NFL season. The AFL played 2 games on this day. The Oakland Raiders beat the Houston Oilers, 24-13 at Jeppesen Stadium in Houston. And the Kansas City Chiefs, in their 1st game under that name after being the AFL's flagship franchise, the Dallas Texans, beat the Denver Broncos 59-7 at Bears Stadium (later renamed Mile High Stadium) in Denver.
These baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 11-6 at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees scored 8 runs in the 5th inning. Mickey Mantle went 2-for-4. Roger Maris went 3-for-5 with a home run and 4 RBIs. Al Kaline did not play for the Tigers in this game.
* The New York Mets lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 4-2 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Frank Robinson did not play in this game for the Reds. Rookie Pete Rose went 0-for-4.
* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-4 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Shortstop Bobby Wine went 3-for-4, raising his batting average to .212, but his error in the top of the 10th inning doomed the Phils. Hank Aaron and Joe Torre hit home runs for the Braves.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-4.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Washington Senators, 9-2 at District of Columbia Stadium (later Robert F. Kennedy Stadium) in Washington.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-5 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The Cards scored 2 runs in the 8th and 1 in the 9th, on an RBI single by Curt Flood, to come from behind to win this game. The runner he drove in was Bob Gibson, pinch-running for Stan Musial, in his final month as an active player. He had drawn a walk as a pinch-hitter. Roberto Clemente also appeared only as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Rich Rollins singled home the winning runs in the top of the 12th inning. Harmon Killebrew went 0-for-4.
* The Houston Colt .45s beat the Chicago Cubs, 2-1 at Colt Stadium in Houston. Richard "Turk" Farrell, with 1 run on 4 hits, 1 walk, and 10 strikeouts, outpitched Dick Ellsworth, with 2 runs on 5 hits, 3 walks and 11 strikeouts. Ernie Banks only appeared as a defensive replacement, and did not come to bat. The Colts became the Houston Astros in 1965.
* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels, 5-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, where the Angels were groundsharing while their Anaheim stadium was being built.
* And speaking of the Dodgers, they were beaten by their arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants, 5-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Juan Marichal outpitched Don Drysdale. Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda all hit home runs. The Dodgers went on to win the World Series, anyway.
And in English soccer, Arsenal beat Manchester-area team Bolton Wanderers, 4-3 at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London.
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