Doomsday101
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Canton, Ohio, a town of 73,000 residents located 60 miles south of Cleveland, is football mecca. Fans travel from far-and-wide to wander the hallowed grounds of The Pro Football Hall of Fame. As Coach Garrett likes to say, Canton is “Ground Zero for football”. But of all the places in the world, why is Canton significant? Why is it the home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
Canton is the place where the NFL was founded in 1920, although at that time, the league was called the American Professional Football Association. It was renamed the NFL in 1922. Also, the city was the home of the Canton Bulldogs, one of the most popular and successful pro football teams in the early days of the sport.
Canton residents persuaded the NFL to open a Hall of Fame in their city; their lobbying efforts were successful and groundbreaking took place in 1962. Several expansions have followed. After the 1995 expansion, the Hall is now 82,307 square feet but it’s going to get much larger. Just last month, another new project was announced: this time there will be an $800 million project to be completed before the NFL celebrates its 100th season in 2020.
When the Cowboys and Cardinals play in Thursday night’s preseason game, they will play in the newly remodeled Tom Benson Stadium which seats 23,000 and is located adjacent to the ground of the Hall of Fame Museum. It takes about 30 seconds to walk from the museum into the stadium. The stadium, formerly called Fawcett Stadium, is used by local high school and college teams throughout the remainder of the football season.
As for the Canton Bulldogs, you may not know a lot about the team, but you’ve probably heard of its most famous player and coach: Jim Thorpe. Known as the greatest athlete of the 20th century, Thorpe also served as the first NFL commissioner.
Canton is the place where the NFL was founded in 1920, although at that time, the league was called the American Professional Football Association. It was renamed the NFL in 1922. Also, the city was the home of the Canton Bulldogs, one of the most popular and successful pro football teams in the early days of the sport.
Canton residents persuaded the NFL to open a Hall of Fame in their city; their lobbying efforts were successful and groundbreaking took place in 1962. Several expansions have followed. After the 1995 expansion, the Hall is now 82,307 square feet but it’s going to get much larger. Just last month, another new project was announced: this time there will be an $800 million project to be completed before the NFL celebrates its 100th season in 2020.
When the Cowboys and Cardinals play in Thursday night’s preseason game, they will play in the newly remodeled Tom Benson Stadium which seats 23,000 and is located adjacent to the ground of the Hall of Fame Museum. It takes about 30 seconds to walk from the museum into the stadium. The stadium, formerly called Fawcett Stadium, is used by local high school and college teams throughout the remainder of the football season.
As for the Canton Bulldogs, you may not know a lot about the team, but you’ve probably heard of its most famous player and coach: Jim Thorpe. Known as the greatest athlete of the 20th century, Thorpe also served as the first NFL commissioner.
