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Hockey Hall of Fame

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Template:Infobox generic The Hockey Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it contains exhibits that feature interactive displays, players, teams, NHL records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup. The Hall of Fame was first established in 1943 thanks to the efforts of James T. Sutherland and was originally located in Kingston, Ontario. The first class of honourees was officially inducted in 1945, before the Hall of Fame had a permanent location. It was moved to Toronto in 1958 after the NHL withdrew its support of Kingston and its first permanent building opened at the Exhibition Place in 1961. In 1993, the Hall was outgrowing its location and was relocated to a former Bank of Montreal building in downtown Toronto, which where it is currently located.

New honourees are selected annually by a committee of 18 people that meets in June, which mainly consists of former players and coaches. Honourees are inducted in as either players, builders or on-ice officials. They are honoured in a special ceremony, held at the Hall of Fame building in November and accompanied by a special "Hockey Hall of Fame Game" between the Toronto Maple Leafs and a visiting team. As of 2007, 238 players, 96 builders and 14 on-ice officials have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame has been criticized for focusing mainly on players from the National Hockey League and largely ignoring players from other international and North American leagues. In 1993, there was controversy over the induction of Gil Stein and the NHL claimed that he had engineered his own election. There was an investigation of these allegations and Stein would decline his induction.

History

The Hockey Hall of Fame is located at the corner of Front & Yonge in downtown Toronto.

The Hockey Hall of Fame was established in large part thanks to the efforts of James T. Sutherland, the former President of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. Sutherland wished to establish it in Kingston, Ontario as he believed that the city was the birthplace of hockey.[1] In 1943, the NHL and CAHA reached an agreement that a Hall of Fame would be established in Kingston.[1] Originally called the "International Hockey Hall of Fame", its mandate was to honour great hockey players and to raise funds so that a museum could be built. The first eleven inductees were inducted on April 30, 1945, despite not having a permament home.[1] Sutherland died ten years later, and thus Kingston had lost its most influential advocate to permanently put the Hall there.[2] By 1958 only a small amount of the funds needed to construct a permanent building in Kingston had been raised and Clarence Campbell, the president of the NHL, grew tired of waiting for the construction to begin and withdrew the NHL's support to put the Hall in Kingston.[3]

The same year, the NHL and the Canadian National Exhibition reached an agreement that a new Hall of Fame would be established in Toronto, in the Exhibition Place's Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. On August 20, 1958, the temporary Hockey Hall of Fame opened as an exhibit within the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, and 350,000 people would visit it during the 1958 Exhibition.[2] Due to the success of the exhibit, it was agreed that a permanent home in the Exhibition Place was needed.[4] The NHL agreed to fully fund the building of the new facility on the grounds of Exhibition Place in 1960,[5] and it was opened on August 26, 1961, by Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.[6] The Hall would be visited by 750,000 people in its inaugural year.[7]

Originally there were Hall of Fame categories for players and builders, and a third category meant specifically for on-ice officials was added in 1961.[6] In 1966, the induction ceremony was a "stag affair" and Ted Lindsay, one of the inductees that year, refused to attend because his family could not accompany him. The induction ceremony would be made open to all members of an honouree's family the next year.[6] Admission to the Hockey Hall of Fame was free to the public until 1980, when the Hockey Hall of Fame facilities underwent expansion.[8]

The "World of Hockey Zone", which opened in 1998, is dedicated to international and Olympic hockey.

By 1986, the Hall of Fame was quickly expanding and running out of room in its building, and it was decided that a new home was needed.[9] It was closed at Exhibition Place in 1992, so it could be relocated to the former Bank of Montreal building at the corner of Yonge and Front streets in Toronto. The building, since renamed to Brookfield Place, was designed by the partnership of Frank Darling and S. George Curry.[10] The Hockey Hall of Fame relocated there and officially opened on June 18, 1993.[11] The new location has 51,000 sq ft (4,700 m2) of exhibition space, seven times larger than that of the old facility.[12] The Hockey Hall of Fame is now visited by over 300,000 people each year.[13][14]

According to legend, Brookfield Place is haunted by the ghost of a bank teller, Dorothy, who killed herself in either the bank vault, the gallery behind the vault, or the upstairs washroom in the early 1900s.[15] There have been many reported sightings over the years, and part of the folklore is that she can on occasion be seen looking out the top window that overlooks the intersection.[16]

Operations and organization

The first Curator of the new Hall of Fame was Bobby Hewitson, who remained in that position until his retirement in 1967, when Lefty Reid was appointed. Reid would be Curator of the Hockey Hall of Fame for the next 25 years, retiring in 1992.[17] Following Reid's retirement, former NHL referee-in-chief Scotty Morrison, who was the president since 1986, was appointed the curator.[17] Morrison would supervise the task of relocating the Hall of Fame and on June 18, 1993, the Hockey Hall of Fame relocated and opened at its new location in downtown Toronto.[18] The Hockey Hall of Fame is currently led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bill Hay and Jeff Denomme, the current President, Chief Operating Officer and Treasurer.[19] The Hockey Hall of Fame is operated as a non-profit business called the "Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum" (HHFM), independent of the National Hockey League. The Hall of Fame was originally sponsored by the NHL and Hockey Canada[20] and revenue is generated mainly through admissions.[13][18]

Exhibits

The "Be a Player" exhibit

The Hockey Hall of Fame takes up 57,000 square feet of space and contains fifteen different sections with exhibits.[21] These exhibits include trophies, interactive displays, memorabilia and equipment worn by players during special performances. The MCI Great Hall, described as "a Cathedral to the icons of Hockey",[22] contains portraits and biographical information about every honoured member. It also houses the Stanley Cup, with either the current cup (if not traveling) or a replica on display. The original version of the Cup and the older rings, as well as all of the current National Hockey League trophies are displayed in the bank vault, an alcove off the Great Hall. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is annually held in the Great Hall.[22]

One of the largest exhibit rooms is the "NHL Zone", which is dedicated to the NHL and conists of four different sections. "NHL Today" highlights the current players and teams in the NHL; "NHL Retro" has information about every NHL team, both defunct and active; "NHL Legends" features rotating exhibits about the various honoured members; and "NHL Milestones" contains exhibits dedicated to various records including Darryl Sittler's ten point game and Wayne Gretzky's many records.[23] Next to the NHL zone is an exhibit dedicated to "Stanley Cup dynasties", and contains "reverent displays to the rosters of nine teams which lorded over the NHL for extended periods of time, allowing these clubs to be considered 'Dynasties'."[23] This area also has a replica of the Montreal Canadiens' dressing room at the old Montreal Forum.[23] The "Panasonic Hometown Hockey" section is dedicated to grass roots hockey of North America and includes exhibits about various leagues and sections on women's and disabled hockey leagues.[24] Special exhibits in the past included an exhibit in 2000 showcasing Wayne Gretzky memorabilia.[25]

Interactive displays are featured in the "NHLPA Be A Player Zone" which includes the "Source For Sports Shoot Out" which allows visitors to take shots using real pucks at a computer simulated Eddie Belfour. Its counterpart, "Lay's Shut Out" allow a person be the goaltender and take shots from computer simulations of Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.[26] The "TSN/RDS Broadcast Zone" provides a look at how hockey broadcasting works and allows users to record messages which can be displayed on both TSN and the Hockey Hall of Fame's websites.[27]

While the Hall of Fame does contain many exhibits dedicated to the NHL, it also has a large section devoted to hockey outside of North America. On June 29, 1998, the "World of Hockey Zone" opened. Sponsored by the Royal Canadian Mint, it is a 3,500 square-foot area dedicated to international hockey, including World and Olympic competition and contains profiles on all IIHF member Countries.[3][28][29]

Hall of Fame

The Great Hall features portraits of every inductee, and displays all of the active NHL trophies.
See also: List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

As of 2007, new members can be inducted as players, builders or on-ice officials.[30] A "veteran player category" was established in order in 1988 to "provide a vehicle for players who may have been overlooked and whose chances for election would be limited when placed on the same ballot with contemporary players."[31] Eleven players were inducted into that category, but in 2000, the board of directors eliminated it, and merged the inductees into the player category.[31]

For a person to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, they must be nominated by an 18-person selection committee. The committee consists of Hockey Hall of Fame members, hockey personnel and media personalities associated with the game.[30] The selection committee by-laws state that it must be representative of "areas throughout the world where hockey is popular",[30] and have at least one member that is knowledgeable about international hockey and one member that is knowledgeable about amateur hockey. Committee members are appointed by the board of governors, and their terms last three years. Six member's terms expire every year and the terms of six newly appointed or reappointed members commence.[30] As of 2007, the selection committee consists of: chairman James M. Gregory, Scotty Bowman, Colin Campbell, Ed Chynoweth, John Davidson, Eric Duhatschek, Jan-Ake Edvinsson, Mike Emrick, Michael Farber, Emile Francis, Dick Irvin, Jr., Lanny McDonald, Yvon Pedneault, Pat Quinn, Serge Savard, Harry Sinden, Peter Stastny and Bill Torrey.[30]

Each committee member is allowed to nominate one person in each category per year, and candidates must receive the support of 75% of the members of the committee that are present, or a minimum of ten votes. Nominations must be submitted to the chairman of the board of governors by April 15. The committee then meets in June to vote and a secret ballot is held. In any given year, there can be a maximum of four players, two builders, and one referee or linesman. For a player, referee, or linesman to be nominated, the person must have been retired for a minimum of three years. Builders may be "active or inactive".[32]

The Stanley Cup on display in the Great Hall

The waiting period was waived for ten players deemed exceptionally notable: Dit Clapper (1947), Maurice Richard (1961), Ted Lindsay (1966), Red Kelly (1969), Terry Sawchuk (1971), Jean Beliveau (1972), Gordie Howe (1972), Bobby Orr (1979), Mario Lemieux (1997) and Wayne Gretzky (1999).[33] Following Wayne Gretzky's retirement, it was announced that the waiting period would no longer be waived for any player except under "certain humanitarian circumstances."[31] Three Hall of Fame members came out of retirement and resumed a career in the National League: Gordie Howe, Guy Lafleur and Mario Lemieux.[31]

There is also a category for "Media honourees". The Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award, awarded by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association to "distinguished members of the newspaper profession whose words have brought honour to journalism and to hockey"[34] and the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award which is awarded by the NHL Broadcasters' Association to "members of the radio and television industry who made outstanding contributions to their profession and the game during their career in hockey broadcasting."[34] While media honourees are not considered full inductees, they are displayed at the Hockey Hall of Fame,[27] and are honoured at different times than the other honourees.[35] Some of the award winners have also been inducted into the Hall of Fame as builders, including Foster Hewitt.[36]

The induction ceremony was held at the Hall of Fame from 1959 until 1974. In 1975, it was held at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto and would be held there until 1979. From 1980 to 1992, the ceremony was held at various different locations in Toronto, except for 1986, 1987 and 1991 when the ceremonies were held in Vancouver, Detroit and Ottawa respectively. Since 1993, it has been held at the current Hall of Fame building.[31] The ceremony was first broadcast by The Sports Network in 1994.[37] In 1999, the "Hockey Hall of Fame game" was established, which is a contest between the Toronto Maple Leafs and a visiting team, and before the game, a special ceremony honouring that year's inductees is held.[38]

Criticism

In addition to the controversies over the relatively short mandatory retirement period, debates over inductees follow as a matter of course. The Hall of Fame has alternatively been criticised for inducting several lacklustre candidates in the early 2000s due to "a shortage of true greatness,"[39] but has since been claimed that the Hall of Fame is too exclusive.[39] The Hall of Fame has also been criticised for its lack of international players and has been far too focused on the National Hockey League with a common statement being that it is not the "NHL Hall of Fame".[39][40][41][42][43] Partially in response to these claims, the Hall of Fame recently opened an International Hockey exhibit and has said it will start looking at more international players for induction and inducted Valeri Kharlamov in 2005, who is one of the few modern-day inductees to never play in the NHL.[40] The Hall of Fame has also been criticised of overlooking female hockey players,[44][45] WHA players,[46] and overrepresenting the Original Six era.[46]

One of the most debated possibilities is Paul Henderson, who scored one of the most famous goals in hockey and Canadian sports history when he scored the winning goal in the final moments of the deciding eighth game of the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union.[47] If Henderson was inducted, it would be due largely to the historical significance of that goal. Although his NHL numbers were respectable (236 goals and 477 points in 707 career NHL games), they are not close to the levels of those generally selected for induction. His candidacy led to many debates among hockey fans and columnists.[48][49][50][51]

Controversy

Frank J. Selke served as chairman of the selection committee from 1960 until 1971, when he resigned because of the induction of Harvey Jackson. Jackson, known for his off-ice lifestyle, had died in 1966 of liver failure. Selke had refused to allow such a bad role model to be honoured and had even tried to block his induction.[52]

On March 30, 1993, it was announced that Gil Stein, who at the time was the president of the National Hockey League, would be inducted into the Hall of Fame. There were immediate allegations that he had engineered his election through manipulation of the hall's board of directors. Stein had named five new directors to the Hall of Fame board, and supported several rules changes regarding the selection process, including that elections would be made by a show of hands instead of a secret ballot and that inductees would be approved with a vote of 51 percent instead of the previous 75 percent.[53] Due to these allegations, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman hired two independant lawyers, Arnold Burns and Yves Fortier, to lead an investigation.[54] They concluded that Stein had "improperly manipulated the process" and "created the false appearance and illusion" that his nomination was the idea of Bruce McNall.[53] They concluded that Stein pressured McNall to nominate him and had refused to withdraw his nomination when asked to do so by Bettman.[53] There was dispute over McNall's role and Stein was "categorical in stating that the idea was Mr. McNall's."[53] They recommended that Stein's selection be overturned. Soon after, it was revealed that prior to their announcement, Stein had decided to turn down the induction.[55] In his autobiography, Stein would claim that Bruce McNall had nominated him on his own, not at Stein's request and that Bettman was out to get him and "had used every opportunity to paint [him] in the worst possible light."[56] However, Stein would also admit that to becoming obsessed with his own election to the Hall of Fame, to encouraging and assisting McNall with his nomination,[57] to refusing to withdraw his nomination[58] and to feeling that he deserved the honour, despite having served as NHL president for only a few months.[59]

In 1989, Alan Eagleson, a long time executive director of the National Hockey League Players Association, was inducted as a builder. He resigned nine years later from the Hall after pleading guilty of mail fraud and embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars.[60] His resignation came six days before a vote was to be held to expel him.[61] Originally, the Hall of Fame was not going to become involved in the issue, but was forced to act when dozens of inductees, including Bobby Orr, Ted Lindsay and Brad Park, had campaigned for Eagleson's expulsion, even threatening to renounce their membership if he was not removed. He became the first member of a sports hall of fame in North America to resign.[62]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Honoured members: the Hockey Hall of Fame, p. 1
  2. ^ a b Honoured members: the Hockey Hall of Fame, p. 25
  3. ^ a b "The History of the Hockey Hall of Fame". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  4. ^ Honoured members: the Hockey Hall of Fame, p. 33
  5. ^ Honoured members: the Hockey Hall of Fame, p. 35
  6. ^ a b c Honoured members: the Hockey Hall of Fame, p. 39 Cite error: The named reference "p39" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  7. ^ Honoured members: the Hockey Hall of Fame, p. 47
  8. ^ Patton, Paul (1980-06-06). "Expanded hockey hall will charge admission". The Globe and Mail.
  9. ^ Honoured members: the Hockey Hall of Fame, p. 155
  10. ^ "Hockey Hall of Fame (Former Bank of Montreal)". Archiseek. Retrieved December 8, 2007.
  11. ^ Breslin, Lauren (2003-06-15). "Hall Marks its 10th Anniversary". The Toronto Sun.
  12. ^ Ormsby, Mary (1993-06-08). "New Hockey Hall of Fame brilliant mix of the old and new". The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec).
  13. ^ a b Steed, Judy (2002-06-10). "Canada's pride designed as a story". Toronto Star.
  14. ^ Arace, Michael (1999-11-28). "Canada's Centerpiece". Columbus Dispatch.
  15. ^ O'Donnell, Chuck (2004-10-31). "Dorothy heard lurking in Hockey Hall of Fame". The Record (Bergen County, NJ).
  16. ^ Colombo, John Robert. "Excerpt from Haunted Toronto". Haunted Hamilton. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  17. ^ a b "Founders & Leaders". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  18. ^ a b "About Us". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  19. ^ "Staff directory". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  20. ^ "History of Hockey Canada". Hockey Canada. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  21. ^ "Exhibits Tour". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-12-28.
  22. ^ a b "MCI Great Hall". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-12-28.
  23. ^ a b c "NHL Zone". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-12-28. Cite error: The named reference "NHL Zone" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  24. ^ "Panasonic Hometown Hockey". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-12-28.
  25. ^ Mandernach, Mark (2000-04-23). "Toronto's Hockey Hall of Fame Shoots and Scores". Chicago Tribune.
  26. ^ "NHLPA Be A Player Zone". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-12-28.
  27. ^ a b "TSN/RDS Broadcast Zone". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-12-28.
  28. ^ "Hall goes global, exciting new permanent exhibit to open June 29". The Toronto Sun. 1998-06-26.
  29. ^ "Royal Canadian Mint World of Hockey". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-12-28.
  30. ^ a b c d e "Selection Committee By-Laws". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
  31. ^ a b c d e "Induction facts & figures". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
  32. ^ "Summary of Election Procedures". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
  33. ^ "Committee Approves Waiver for Gretzky". New York Times. 1999-04-30. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
  34. ^ a b "Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award winners". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-12-25. Cite error: The named reference "Ferguson" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  35. ^ "Hockey Hall of Fame Announces Legends Classic Tour 2005 Featuring Canada Vs. Russia". Hockey Hall of Fame. September 7, 2005. Retrieved 2007-12-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. ^ "Foster Hewitt". LegendsofHockey.net. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
  37. ^ Honoured members: the Hockey Hall of Fame, p. 194
  38. ^ Honoured members: the Hockey Hall of Fame, p. 207
  39. ^ a b c Ulmer, Mike (2006-06-30). "Hockey Hall just too tough". Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
  40. ^ a b "Hall welcomes class of 2005: Neely, Kharlamov, Costello inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame". Barrie Examiner (Ontario) / Canadian Press. 2005-11-08.
  41. ^ Ken Fidlin (2005-11-7). "Fitting tribute to hockey legend". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2007-12-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  42. ^ Canadian Press (2007-06-28). "It's the Hockey Hall of Fame, not the NHL Hall of Fame". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
  43. ^ Frei, Terry (2007-06-27). "Here's my final selections for the 2007 Hall class". ESPN. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
  44. ^ Spencer, Donna (2007-03-10). "Woman belongs in IIHF Hall of Fame—official: Naming a female to federation's honour roll could start in 2008". Edmonton Journal.
  45. ^ McGran, Kevin (2007-12-22). "Gender issues hound Hall of Fame: Female players face barriers to finally gaining recognition". Toronto Star.
  46. ^ a b Klein, Jeff Z. (1986). The Klein and Reif Hockey Compendium. McClelland and Stewart.
  47. ^ Brown, Scott (2006-06-29). "Hall of one-hit wonders". Nanaimo Daily News (British Columbia).
  48. ^ "Does Paul Henderson Belong In The Hockey Hall of Fame?". 1972summitseries.com. Retrieved 2007-05-04.
  49. ^ Steve Simmons (2002-09-15). "The Last Word". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
  50. ^ Jim Kernaghan (2002-09-28). "'He scores . . . Henderson has scored for Canada'". London Free Press. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
  51. ^ Jim Hunt (2005-06-07). "Chuvalo truly deserving of Walk of Fame honour". Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
  52. ^ Honoured members: the Hockey Hall of Fame, p. 91
  53. ^ a b c d Lapointe, Joe (1993-08-19). "Stein Is Scratched as N.H.L. Immortal". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
  54. ^ "Stein Investigators Need More Time". New York Times. 1993-07-14. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
  55. ^ "Stein Hands the N.H.L. His Resignation". New York Times. 1993-09-21. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
  56. ^ Stein p. 224
  57. ^ Stein p. 204
  58. ^ Stein p. 224
  59. ^ Stein p. 212
  60. ^ Honoured members: the Hockey Hall of Fame, p. 167
  61. ^ Hunter, Paul (2007-02-27). "Eagleson puts hockey memorabilia on block". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
  62. ^ Lapointe, Joe (1998-03-26). "Eagleson Resigns Under Pressure". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-10.

References

  • Honoured members: the Hockey Hall of Fame. Canada: Fenn Publishing. 2003. ISBN 1-55168-239-7. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Stein, Gil (1997). Power Play: An Inside Look at the Big Business of the National Hockey League. Birch Lane Press.

External links

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