HOF Artifact of the Week

This football was used in the first Pro Football Hall of Fame Game which occurred on August 11, 1962 in Fawcett Stadium (now known as Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium) located next to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In the game, the New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals tied 21-21. The ball was obtained by local Canton resident Rick Lombardi who years later had Y.A. Title autograph it. 

Lombardi (no relation to Vince Lombardi) was on the field for the first Hall of Fame Game when Y.A. Tittle errant threw a football that skipped out of bounds to him. He immediately tucked the football under his shirt and ran out of the stadium. In 2015, Lombardi brought the football with him on the television show Pawn Stars (the episode debuted on November 5, 2015) to sell it, but he didn’t like their offer and took the football back home. Shortly after 2015 a local business man, Walter Loudon owner of Loudon Motors, bought the football and donated it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Our weekly artifacts and other unique items are featured daily in our docent presentations for visitors of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Plan your visit to the Hall to learn more about the collection in our archives.