Pro Football Hall of Fame Game

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game is an annual National Football League (NFL) preseason exhibition game in Canton, Ohio, held the weekend of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's induction ceremonies. The game is played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, part of the Hall of Fame Village and located adjacent to the Hall of Fame building.[1] The first game was played in 1962, when ground was broken for the Hall of Fame, and it was used as a fundraiser for the Hall of Fame.[2][3][4]

Pro Football Hall of Fame Game
StadiumTom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium
LocationCanton, Ohio, U.S.
First played1962
2023 season
New York Jets 16 Cleveland Browns 21
2024 season
Houston Texans 17 Chicago Bears 21

Since 1970, the game has mainly been held in the beginning of August, marking the start of the NFL preseason. It is traditionally celebrated by fans as the first NFL game since the prior season's Super Bowl, which takes place nearly six months earlier.

Team selection

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 Canton
 
 
 Canton

The two teams that play in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game are typically selected by the league in advance of the remainder of the preseason schedule. The participants are usually announced around the time that the new Hall of Fame members are announced, which coincides with Super Bowl week. Often, when a particularly notable player will be entering the Hall of Fame that year, a team with which he had been strongly associated may be selected to play in the game to help maximize attendance and publicity of the game itself.

From 1971 to 2010, the opponents for each game usually included one AFC team and one NFC team. In 2009, as recognition of the 50th anniversary of the American Football League, the game paired two AFC teams who were part of the "original eight" franchises of the AFL (1960), the Tennessee Titans (dressed as their previous incarnation, the Houston Oilers) and the Buffalo Bills, whose owner, Ralph Wilson, was inducted into the Hall that year. An all-NFC matchup was scheduled for 2011,[5] but it was canceled by the lockout; the following year, another intra-conference matchup of two NFC teams took its place. From 2011 onward, each team selected to play in the game has had at least one prominent alumnus being inducted into the Hall that year.

Since the Hall of Fame Game and the Hall of Fame induction ceremony are scheduled for the weekend before the normal NFL preseason season starts, both teams end up playing an additional exhibition game compared to the remaining teams in the league (formerly four, three as of 2021).

The last four expansion teams added to the league all played in the Hall of Fame Game as their first game. In 1995, expansion clubs Jacksonville and Carolina played each other, and Houston appeared in 2002. When the new Cleveland Browns returned to the league in 1999 with a rebooted roster, they played in the Hall of Fame Game.

The Baltimore Ravens, officially established in 1996 as a result of the Browns' relocation, did not play in the Hall of Fame Game until 2018. With the Ravens' participation, all 32 current NFL teams have at least one appearance.

Scheduling

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Prior to the AFL–NFL merger, the Hall of Fame Game was played in August or September, in some cases at the end of the preseason. In 1970, it was moved to the beginning of the preseason. Prior to 2001, it was not uncommon for the game to be played in July. Since 2001, when the league permanently moved the start of the season to the weekend after Labor Day, the game has always been played in early August. In 2002, the Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony was moved from the steps of the museum to the football stadium. This created a tight schedule between the ceremony and the game.

The 2011 game was originally scheduled between the St. Louis Rams and the Chicago Bears, but the game was canceled by an ongoing labor dispute that had disrupted nearly all league activity during the 2011 offseason. The two clubs had set a deadline of July 22 to ratify a resolution in enough time to prepare for the game: the league and players did not ratify the agreement until July 25, forcing cancellation of the game.

The 2016 edition, which was scheduled to be played between the Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts, was canceled at the last minute for unsafe playing conditions. Mike Silver of NFL.com reported that on the morning of the game, it was discovered that the logos at midfield and the end zones had been painted using paint which was not intended for use on the newly installed synthetic FieldTurf. Subsequently, the paint had not fully dried, and officials heated the field to speed up the drying process, causing its rubber infill to melt; the affected areas were described as being slick and "like cement," making it impossible to get decent footing. Stadium officials attempted to address this issue by applying paint thinner to the turf before a Packers employee alerted them to a label warning that the substance could result in burns when exposed to skin. In deciding to cancel the game, the league and the Players Association cited safety concerns.[6][7][8]

Both teams were told at 6:40 p.m. EDT, eighty minutes before kickoff, that the game was going to be canceled. However, fans in the stadium only learned of the pending cancellation via social media, and no official announcement was made until just before the scheduled 8 p.m. kickoff, which was greeted by boos and jeering.[9]

The next year, in 2017, the game was moved to Thursday night, making it the first event of the Hall of Fame weekend:[10][11] the game was moved prior to the ceremony to prevent a repeat of the 2016 incident, and has been maintained since. Immediately following the game, the stage and seating area for the Hall of Fame ceremony are erected in the stadium.

The game in 2020, which was scheduled to be played between the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers, as well as all other preseason games, was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic. The matchup was held over for the 2021 game.[12][13]

Television and radio

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Unlike the majority of NFL preseason games, which air on local television stations, the Hall of Fame Game airs nationwide. From 1999 to 2005, the game was held on Monday night, televised as part of ABC's Monday Night Football package. It had previously been held typically on Saturday afternoons, except from 1963 to 1965 on Sunday afternoons, televised as part of ABC's Wide World of Sports package (still using the MNF crew). In 1998, the game was put in the MNF package, and played on a Saturday night, which served as a test run for the move to Monday night.

Since 2006, the game has largely aired on NBC as part of the Sunday Night Football package (which replaced MNF as the NFL's flagship primetime broadcast that season), except in 2007 (when NBC planned to air the China Bowl preseason game in Beijing, which was postponed and ultimately canceled) and in all Summer Olympics years (2008, 2012, 2016, 2021, 2024, 2028, and 2032) due to NBC's broadcast rights to the Games. In these years, the game is sold to one of the NFL's other media partners, such as NFL Network (under Thursday Night Football), ESPN (under the current iteration of Monday Night Football), and Fox.[14] The 2024 game, which will be broadcast by ESPN due to the 2024 Summer Olympics, will be simulcast by ABC.[15]

2010s

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2020s

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Game history

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Date Away team Away score Home team Home score Recap
August 11, 1962 New York Giants 21 St. Louis Cardinals 21 Recap[3]
September 8, 1963 Cleveland Browns 7 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 Recap
September 6, 1964 Baltimore Colts 48 Pittsburgh Steelers 17 Recap
September 12, 1965 Detroit Lions 3 Washington Redskins 20 Recap
August 5, 1967 Cleveland Browns 13 Philadelphia Eagles 28 Recap
August 3, 1968 Dallas Cowboys 24 Chicago Bears 30 Recap
September 13, 1969 Green Bay Packers 38 Atlanta Falcons 24 Recap
August 8, 1970 New Orleans Saints 14 Minnesota Vikings 13 Recap
July 31, 1971 Houston Oilers 6 Los Angeles Rams 17 Recap
July 29, 1972 Kansas City Chiefs 23 New York Giants 17 Recap
July 28, 1973 San Francisco 49ers 20 New England Patriots 7 Recap
July 27, 1974 Buffalo Bills 13 St. Louis Cardinals 21 Recap
August 2, 1975 Washington Redskins 17 Cincinnati Bengals 9 Recap
July 24, 1976 Denver Broncos 10 Detroit Lions 7 Recap
July 30, 1977 Chicago Bears 20 New York Jets 6 Recap
July 29, 1978 Miami Dolphins 3 Philadelphia Eagles 17 Recap
July 28, 1979 Dallas Cowboys 13 Oakland Raiders 20 Recap
August 2, 1980 San Diego Chargers 0 Green Bay Packers 0 Recap[n 1]
August 1, 1981 Atlanta Falcons 10 Cleveland Browns 24 Recap
August 7, 1982 Baltimore Colts 14 Minnesota Vikings 30 Recap
July 30, 1983 New Orleans Saints 14 Pittsburgh Steelers 27 Recap
July 28, 1984 Seattle Seahawks 38 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0 Recap
August 3, 1985 New York Giants 21 Houston Oilers 20 Recap
August 2, 1986 New England Patriots 21 St. Louis Cardinals 16 Recap
August 8, 1987 San Francisco 49ers 20 Kansas City Chiefs 7 Recap
July 30, 1988 Cincinnati Bengals 14 Los Angeles Rams 7 Recap
August 5, 1989 Washington Redskins 31 Buffalo Bills 6 Recap
August 4, 1990 Cleveland Browns 0 Chicago Bears 13 Recap
July 27, 1991 Detroit Lions 14 Denver Broncos 3 Recap
August 1, 1992 New York Jets 41 Philadelphia Eagles 14 Recap
July 31, 1993 Green Bay Packers 3 Los Angeles Raiders 19 Recap
July 30, 1994 San Diego Chargers 17 Atlanta Falcons 21 Recap
July 29, 1995 Carolina Panthers 20 Jacksonville Jaguars 14 Recap
July 27, 1996 Indianapolis Colts 10 New Orleans Saints 3 Recap
July 26, 1997 Minnesota Vikings 28 Seattle Seahawks 26 Recap
August 1, 1998 Pittsburgh Steelers 6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30 Recap
August 9, 1999 Dallas Cowboys 17 Cleveland Browns 20 Recap
July 31, 2000 New England Patriots 20 San Francisco 49ers 0 Recap
August 6, 2001 St. Louis Rams 17 Miami Dolphins 10 Recap
August 5, 2002 Houston Texans 17 New York Giants 34 Recap
August 4, 2003 Green Bay Packers 0 Kansas City Chiefs 9 Recap[dead link][n 2]
August 9, 2004 Denver Broncos 17 Washington Redskins 20 Recap
August 8, 2005 Chicago Bears 27 Miami Dolphins 24 Recap
August 6, 2006 Oakland Raiders 16 Philadelphia Eagles 10 Recap
August 5, 2007 New Orleans Saints 7 Pittsburgh Steelers 20 Recap
August 3, 2008 Indianapolis Colts 16 Washington Redskins 30 Recap
August 9, 2009 Buffalo Bills 18 Tennessee Titans 21 Recap
August 8, 2010 Dallas Cowboys 16 Cincinnati Bengals 7 Recap
August 7, 2011 Canceled due to NFL lockout Ref.[n 3]
August 5, 2012 Arizona Cardinals 10 New Orleans Saints 17 Recap
August 4, 2013 Miami Dolphins 20 Dallas Cowboys 24 Recap
August 3, 2014 New York Giants 17 Buffalo Bills 13 Recap
August 9, 2015 Pittsburgh Steelers 3 Minnesota Vikings 14 Recap
August 7, 2016 Canceled due to poor field conditions Ref.[n 4]
August 3, 2017 Arizona Cardinals 18 Dallas Cowboys 20 Recap
August 2, 2018 Chicago Bears 16 Baltimore Ravens 17 Recap
August 1, 2019 Denver Broncos 14 Atlanta Falcons 10 Recap
August 6, 2020 Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic Ref.[n 5]
August 5, 2021 Dallas Cowboys 3 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 Recap
August 4, 2022 Jacksonville Jaguars 11 Las Vegas Raiders 27 Recap
August 3, 2023 New York Jets 16 Cleveland Browns 21 Recap
August 1, 2024 Houston Texans 17 Chicago Bears 21 Recap [n 6]
Notes
  1. ^ The 1980 game was called with 5:29 remaining in the fourth quarter due to lightning.
  2. ^ The 2003 game was called with 5:49 remaining in the third quarter due to lightning.
  3. ^ The 2011 game was scheduled to be between the St. Louis Rams and the Chicago Bears, but was canceled due to the NFL lockout.
  4. ^ The 2016 game was scheduled to be between the Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts, but was canceled due to poor field conditions.
  5. ^ The 2020 game was scheduled to be between the Dallas Cowboys versus the Pittsburgh Steelers, but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  6. ^ The 2024 game was called with 3:31 remaining in the third quarter due to lightning and torrential rain.

Appearances

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Team Games W L T PCT Last appearance
Pittsburgh Steelers 7 4 3 0 .571 2021
Dallas Cowboys 7 3 4 0 .429 2021
Chicago Bears 6 5 1 0 .833 2024
Cleveland Browns 6 3 3 0 .500 2023
Washington Redskins/Commanders 5 5 0 0 1.000 2008
New York Giants 5 3 1 1 .700 2014
New Orleans Saints 5 2 3 0 .400 2012
Arizona/St. Louis Cardinals 5 1 3 1 .300 2017
Atlanta Falcons 5 1 4 0 .200 2019
Denver Broncos 5 3 2 0 .600 2019
Minnesota Vikings 4 3 1 0 .750 2015
Philadelphia Eagles 4 2 2 0 .500 2006
Indianapolis/Baltimore Colts 4 2 2 0 .500 2008
Green Bay Packers 4 1 2 1 .375 2003
Miami Dolphins 4 0 4 0 .000 2013
Buffalo Bills 4 0 4 0 .000 2014
Las Vegas/Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders 4 4 0 0 1.000 2022
New England Patriots 3 2 1 0 .667 2000
San Francisco 49ers 3 2 1 0 .667 2000
Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams 3 2 1 0 .667 2001
Kansas City Chiefs 3 2 1 0 .667 2003
Detroit Lions 3 1 2 0 .333 1991
Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers 3 1 2 0 .333 2009
Cincinnati Bengals 3 1 2 0 .333 2010
New York Jets 3 1 2 0 .333 2023
Seattle Seahawks 2 1 1 0 .500 1997
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2 1 1 0 .500 1998
Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers 2 0 1 1 .250 1994
Jacksonville Jaguars 2 0 2 0 .000 2022
Houston Texans 2 0 2 0 .000 2024
Carolina Panthers 1 1 0 0 1.000 1995
Baltimore Ravens 1 1 0 0 1.000 2018
  • Most appearances
  • Fewest appearances
  • Most wins
  • Longest active streak without Hall of Fame Game appearance

References

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  1. ^ "Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company Announces New Brand and Identity for Its Sports & Entertainment Destination Resort" (Press release). July 2, 2020.
  2. ^ "Hall of Fame ceremonies held at Canton". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. August 11, 1962. p. 8.
  3. ^ a b "Cards tie Giants, 21-21, in Hall of Fame Game". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. August 12, 1962. p. 6.
  4. ^ Robinson, Jacob; Russini, Dianna. "Scoop City: What you should know before the Hall of Fame Game". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  5. ^ "Individual Tickets & Festival Fan Packages". Profootballhof.com. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
  6. ^ Silver, Mike (August 4, 2016). "Hall of Fame Game cancellation: NFL made the right decision". NFL.com.
  7. ^ Demovsky, Rob (August 7, 2016). "Field conditions force cancellation of preseason Hall of Fame Game". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  8. ^ "Hall of Fame Game fiasco: How the wrong paint, melted rubber, and caustic paint thinner nixed Packers-Colts". Acme Packing Company (SBNation). Vox Media. August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  9. ^ Doyel, Gregg (August 7, 2016). "Doyel: NFL fans deserve better". The Indianapolis Star.
  10. ^ "Hall of Fame game moved to Thursday night to start preseason". ESPN.com. December 28, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  11. ^ "What we learned from Broncos-Falcons in HOF Game". NFL.com. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  12. ^ Smith, Michael David (June 25, 2020). "Hall of Fame Game canceled". ProFootballTalk.
  13. ^ Kilgore, Adam. "After 256 games and a few close calls, the NFL's pandemic regular season comes to an end". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  14. ^ Staff, S. V. G. (August 13, 2021). "Ratings Roundup: NBC Receives Least Watched Olympics in Primetime; NFL Hall of Fame Game Becomes Most-Watched Preseason Bout in Four Years". Sports Video Group. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  15. ^ "ESPN/ABC to broadcast 2024 Hall of Fame Game featuring Bears, Texans on Aug. 1 | Pro Football Hall of Fame". pfhof. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
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40°49′12″N 81°23′53″W / 40.820°N 81.398°W / 40.820; -81.398