Hockey Hall of Fame

Hockey Hall of Fame, Canada

The International Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF) is a building and hall of fame located in Toronto , Ontario , Canada and was founded in 1943 to honor the best ice hockey players. So far, 411 personalities have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. It also functions as an ice hockey museum, which contains exhibits about famous players and teams. Furthermore, it is reminiscent of the history of the National Hockey League and exhibits the NHL Awards, including the Stanley Cup .

history

The Hockey Hall of Fame was founded in 1943 by former President of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association , James T. Sutherland. Sutherland preferred to open the new Hall of Fame in Kingston as he believed at the time that the city was the birthplace of ice hockey. In 1943, those responsible for the NHL and CAHA agreed to open a Hall of Fame based in Kingston. The hall of fame was initially called the "International Hockey Hall of Fame" and took on the first eleven members on April 20, 1940. With the death of Sutherland in 1955, the City of Kingston lost its main advocate for permanent residence in the Canadian city.

The NHL Awards are in the great hall

In 1958 the HHOF moved to Toronto and from then on shared a building with the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame at Exhibition Place west of the city center. A short time later, the HHOF opened its own exhibition within the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. During the Canadian National Exhibition , which takes place annually in late summer in Toronto , 350,000 people visited the exhibition at the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Due to the unexpected success, the NHL decided two years later to build its own building, which was opened on August 26, 1961 on the property of the Canadian National Exhibition. In the first year after the opening of the new premises, the HHOF was visited by 750,000 people. In 1986 those responsible decided to leave the previous location and move into a new one. On June 16, 1993, a new building opened on the corner of Yonge Street and Front Street in Toronto. The exhibition area is now 50,600 m², which is seven times larger than the previous area on the CNE property.

In 1997 the International Ice Hockey Federation established its own Hall of Fame in Zurich. In 1998, a contract was signed with the Hockey Hall of Fame and on June 29, the IIHF exhibition opened in Toronto with its own space.

Members

Admission requirements

To become a member of the Hall of Fame, the player must be nominated by an 18-person committee and endorsed by 15 of the 18 committee members. A maximum of four players, two non-players and one referee or linesman can be accepted each year. The players, referees or linesmen must have ended their active career three years ago.

In the past, this waiting period was overridden for exceptional players. This affected the following ten players:

The clapper ; Maurice Richard ; Ted Lindsay ; Red Kelly ; Terry Sawchuk ; Jean Béliveau ; Gordie Howe ; Bobby Orr ; Mario Lemieux ; Wayne Gretzky