Behind every star athlete, incomparable performer, and overachieving intellectual, there is a very clear goal in mind: to reach the heights of fame. There are a lot of ways to go about this. You can invent an extraordinary device, or compose a song that gets stuck in people’s heads (who could ever forget Yellow Submarine?), or even participate in the Olympics and bring home the gold for your nation! However, to really make it to the top, to be considered the best of the best, you have to make it to a walk, wall or hall of fame.
For a sportsperson, this can seem like a daunting task, with newer and younger players being added to the roster every year. But there are hundreds of halls of fame all across the world, other than the National Sports Hall of Fame in Pennsylvania, that celebrate the contributions of athletic inspirations from every district, state, and country! The opportunities are endless, much like the Halls of Fame themselves, monuments to all the incredible things achieved in the name of sports. These are some Halls of Fame found across the globe which hold tributes to the elite of the athletic world that you probably didn’t even know existed!
(By Visitor7, Wikimedia Commons)
This Hall of Fame was established in 1953 and is located within the San Diego Hall of Champions, which is the largest American multi-sport museum in the country. 117 athletes have been given this honor, have achieved excellence in sports in San Diego, or are natives of San Diego that have made extraordinary sports achievements in other places, in over 20 different sports which include figure skating, marksmanship, and pole vaulting.
(By José Reynaldo da Fonseca, Wikimedia Commons)
This Hall of Fame recognizes two different species, people and horses! Though construction on the museum began in 1989 (as did horse inductees), humans were inducted into this Hall of Fame first in 1982. This Hall of Fame honors people and horses who “have been outstanding over a period of years in a variety of categories”, and have made contributions to the growth of the American Quarter Horses, a species bred for racing.
(By Carlos Delgado, Wikimedia Commons)
Also known as the FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, it was established by the International Basketball Federation FIBA (originally known as the Fédération Internationale de Basketball Amateur), in 1991. The FIBA Hall of Fame Museum is located in Madrid, Spain, and is home to the largest basketball library in the world, containing over 10,000 books and 1000 magazines on basketball, collected from all over the world. Coaches, players, administrators, and referees, any persons deemed to have made major contributions to international basketball, are inducted into this Hall of Fame, with no bar on nationality.
(By Bani, Wikimedia Commons)
Founded by the National Football Foundation (NFF) in 1951, this list of high achievers is devoted entirely to the well-followed sport of college football. This Hall of Fame honors coaches and players that have had exemplary records or performed extraordinary feats in college football. You can find this hall of fame in Georgia, at the center of Atlanta’s tourism, entertainment, and sports district, adjacent to the Centennial Olympic Park.
The elite athletes in this Hall of Fame are inducted annually through the Who’s Who Legends Award, conducted by the AMAA (American Martial Arts Alliance) Institute. Members of the Advisory board of the Institute also travel the country promoting the award and various publications on the importance of martial arts. The award ceremony is usually conducted in the Orleans Hotel & Casino, located in Las Vegas, Nevada.
(By Flibirigit, Wikimedia Commons)
Founded in 1997 by the IIFH (the International Ice Hockey Federation), this Hall of Fame honors achievements and legends in the sport of Ice Hockey. New members are inducted to the IIHF Hall of Fame every year during the Ice Hockey World Championships medal presentation day. Inductees to this hall of fame belong to countries from all across the world, including Russia, the United States and the Czech Republic. This Hall of Fame has been located within the Hockey Hall of Fame in Ontario, Canada, since 1998.
(By Highflier, Wikimedia Commons)
On the grounds of the Florence Speedway in Walton, Kentucky, is the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame, a not-for-profit award and honor for esteemed American drivers of late-model dirt race cars, that is, recently designed cars that are raced specifically on clay or dirt tracks. This Hall of Fame was created in 2001 and honors three categories of inductees with a different award, Drivers, Sportsman, and Contributors. Drivers must have at least 30 years of experience in the industry to be eligible.
You’re likely to be familiar with the World Golf Hall of Fame, which includes inductees like Former Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and George H.W Bush. However, this hall of fame was created to appreciate and honor professional golf caddies who have supported the sport through and through. Originally started in 1999 by the Professional Caddies Association, since 2011, this Hall of Fame has been under the administration of the Western Golf Association. Included on the list of inductees are Bill Murray and his 5 brothers, for their contribution to the film "Caddyshack" which brought the profession of caddies to the silver screen.
(By Gen. Quon, Wikimedia Commons)
In Lawrence, Kansas, on the grounds of and administered by the Haskell Indian Nations University lies the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame, a non-profit organization founded in 1972. This honor is awarded to extraordinary American athletes of Native American descent, belonging to various different tribes. The Haskell Cultural Center and Museum in which this hall of fame is located contains a large collection of publications on Native American history. Recipients of this award include Olympic gold medalists Jim Thorpe and Billy Mills.
(By MarkBuckawicki, Wikimedia Commons)
In 1966, the Billiard Congress of America (BCA), the governing body in North America for all billiard sports, which are any sports played with a cue stick and billiard balls, began the BCA Hall of Fame. Major contributors to the sport of billiards (also known as pool) are inducted into this Hall of Fame in accordance with their long term activities, and under two specified categories, the first being “The Greatest Players” category, for outstanding billiard players and the second being “The Meritorious Service” category, which is for extraordinary endeavors carried out to further the sport and industry as a whole.
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