Pro Football Hall of Fame, Sports hall of fame in Canton, United States

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is a sports museum in Canton dedicated to American football, covering more than 118,000 square feet (about 11,000 square meters) and telling the story of the game through equipment, jerseys, and personal items from past players. The interior is divided into sections that let you follow the development of the sport from its early days to the present.

The building opened in September 1963, when 17 players and officials from the early decades of professional football were inducted. Since then, new members have been selected regularly to honor the best achievements in the sport.

Canton is often used as shorthand for the Hall of Fame itself, and the city won the building partly because the NFL was founded there on September 17, 1920. The Hall has no official affiliation with the NFL, yet almost every enshrined member made his main contribution in that league; guard Billy Shaw, who spent his whole career in the American Football League, is the exception.

The Hall sits on a campus in Canton that also holds the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, home of the annual Hall of Fame Game; the adjoining Hall of Fame Village development, begun in 2016, was still unfinished as of 2026. The building has grown from 19,000 square feet in 1963 to 118,000 square feet after the 2013 renovation, so allow time for the exhibits and the GameDay Stadium film.

Each member is honored with a bronze bust displayed in a circular hall, capturing the face and achievement of that person. These busts form the centerpiece of the visit and are photographed by many visitors.