Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, Sports museum in Macon, United States.
The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is a sports museum in Macon, Georgia, covering baseball, basketball, football, golf, and Olympic disciplines. The exhibits span several floors and bring together equipment, photographs, and personal stories tied to athletes and teams from the state.
The Hall of Fame began in 1956 as the Georgia Prep Sports Hall of Fame and was expanded in 1963 to cover prep, college, amateur and professional sports. The Georgia State Legislature officially created the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1978. The state appropriated $6.5 million in 1994 and $1.8 million in 1996 for the museum, which cost $8.3 million and opened in 1999.
The hall's name honors athletes, coaches and teams from Georgia, and its sections cover high school, collegiate, Olympic, Paralympic and professional sports. Interactive exhibits include NASCAR simulators, basketball and football games, and computer programs. Since 1956 it has inducted classes of four to ten people, except in 1963, 1968 and 1970; Louise Suggs became the first woman inducted in 1966, and Jim Parker the first African-American in 1974.
The red-brick building with a green roof, modelled on a turn-of-the-century ballpark, stands in downtown Macon. Inside are a 205-seat theater, a 1,500-square-foot Georgia Room, a gift shop and a research center. The Georgia Room, Rotunda, conference room and theater can be rented for events, so some areas may be closed to visitors during a function.
The museum has an on-site theater that can be booked for private events and business gatherings, making it a working event venue as well as a museum. Visitors who happen to be there on the right day may catch a live talk or demonstration tied to a specific sporting moment.
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