Dolphins doing it right

A new "For Pete's Sake" blog appears each Thursday on Profootballhof.com.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, according to our mission statement, exists for four reasons:

  To honor individuals who have made outstanding contributions to professional football 

To preserve professional football’s historic documents and artifacts 
To educate the public regarding the origin, development and growth of professional football as an important part of American culture
To promote the positive values of the sport

All of us here at the Hall put our energy toward upholding this responsibility. In fact, I have the Mission Statement prominently hanging next to my desk so I’m sure to glance at it many times during the day.

I’ll share a quick fact that surprises most fans. The Hall of Fame is an independent, not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) educational institution. What does that mean? Well, you can support our efforts with a donation, large or small, and because of our non-profit status, use it as a tax deduction. More importantly, if you love football as much as we do, then your financial support will help us during a time in which we are undergoing the largest expansion & renovation in our history. Here’s more on our expansion project and also a quick link to our donation form.

“Future 50” Project  |  Support our efforts with a tax-deductible donation

Just last week we received a surprise visit from Hall of Famer Larry Csonka. He was passing through Canton and wanted to show off the Hall of Fame to some friends. I had a chance to catch up with him and among the few questions I posed to him was what he thought of the growth that’s happening here. Watch the interview.

Csonka was en route to Miami to take part in a special ceremony in which his late teammate Jim Mandich was being added to the Dolphins’ Honor Roll. Since it’s right up the same alley of what we do in Canton, I applaud all of the NFL teams that pay tribute to their heritage and honor their distinguished alumni. The Dolphins took it one step further on Sunday when they unveiled the Walk of Fame at Sun Life Stadium. The team’s late owner Joe Robbie and nine members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame were honored in the new tribute. Aside from Csonka, the others include Don Shula, Dan Marino, Bob Griese, Nick Buoniconti, Jim Langer, Larry Little, Dwight Stephenson and Paul Warfield.

No doubt we’re all caught up in the present as another NFL season hits its climax with the playoff race tight as ever. But, it’s nice to see teams take a moment to reflect on the greats who made this game what it is today.