The Pro Football Hall of Fame is featured with an exhibit in the new renovated lobby of City Hall in downtown Canton. The building is located across the street from the site where the National Football League, first known as the American Professional Football Association, was
founded in 1920.
Mayor William J. Healy II addresses the crowd on hand for the dedication of the renovation City Hall lobby on Feb. 3, 2012.
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“Canton’s tie to the NFL and professional football is deep rooted,” shared Christy Davis, the Hall of Fame’s registrar who created and installed the exhibit. “We selected artifacts from our collection that had ties to the city as well as the three Hall of Famers from Canton.”
The opening of the renovated lobby took place during a special ceremony held on Friday, Feb. 3, 2012. A variety of artifacts are on display in the exhibit including mementos related to the three Canton natives enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Dan Dierdorf and
Alan Page were born in Canton while fullback
Marion Motley was raised in Canton and played his high school football in Fawcett Stadium. A football signed by Motley and Page, the Hall of Fame mural of Page from 1988, and a jersey worn by Dierdorf in the 1970 East/West Shrine game are on display in the City Hall exhibit.
Among other pieces of memorabilia on display include a leather helmet from the 1920s, a copy of the meeting minutes from the NFL’s founding on Sept. 17, 1920, a watch and gold fob from the 1922 NFL champion Canton Bulldogs, and a game program from the inaugural Hall of Fame Game in 1962.