Pro Football Hall of Fame Game
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The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game is an annual National Football League exhibition game that is held the weekend of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's induction ceremonies. The game is played at Fawcett Stadium, which is located next door to the Hall of Fame building in Canton, Ohio.
The two teams that play in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game are selected by the league. Since 1971, this has been one AFC team vs. one NFC team; but in 2009, starting with the Hall of Fame Game, Professional Football will recognize the 50th anniversary of the American Football League's first season. In 2009, the game paired two of the 'original eight' franchises of the American Football League, the Tennessee Titans (formerly the Houston Oilers) and the Buffalo Bills. Bills owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. was inducted into the Hall of Fame Class of 2009 along with former Bills player Bruce Smith. Wilson and Titans owner Bud Adams are the only surviving members of the Foolish Club, the eight original owners of AFL franchises. For the game, each team wore throwback uniforms from the AFL years (1960 - 1969), with the Titans wearing Oilers uniforms. Appropriately, the officials wore the AFL's red-orange striped shirts with the AFL logo, instead of black stripes.
Because this game and the Hall of Fame's induction ceremonies are scheduled on the weekend before the league's regular four-week Exhibition season begins, both teams end up playing five exhibition games instead of the normal four and (unlike the Canadian Football League) the league does not remove an exhibition game from another week.
Since 1995, expansion teams usually played the Hall of Fame Game as their first ever NFL contest; the teams that have done so thus far are Jacksonville Jaguars and the Carolina Panthers matchup in 1995, and the Houston Texans in 2002. The only exception to an expansion franchise not playing at this venue is the Baltimore Ravens. It is assumed that this is because the team was considered a moved franchise, as its roster was based on the Cleveland Browns from the year before and no expansion draft was held for the team (nor was a dispersal draft held for the Browns after its suspension in 1995; however, the Ravens are officially recognized as an expansion franchise founded in 1996 as a result of an agreement between the NFL and the city of Cleveland), with another reason being possible fan backlash because of Canton's proximity to Cleveland. However, the Cleveland Browns (who were restocked with an expansion draft) were featured in the Hall of Fame Game upon their return to the league in 1999.
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[edit] Television and radio
From 1999-2005, 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, televised as part of ABC's Wide World of Sports package. 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. Starting in 2006, it was moved to Sunday night, coinciding with the new NBC Sunday Night Football television package. The 2007 game was telecast on NFL Network as NBC was intending to televise the China Bowl game in Beijing, China (a game which was postponed to 2009 and later cancelled).
Westwood One owns national radio rights; it is the only exhibition game to air on a nationwide network. Each team's radio network is also allowed to broadcast the games (albeit usually with fewer affiliates since exhibition games are traditionally much lower priority to non-sports and non-flagship stations).
In 2007 and 2008 the game was broadcast live in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland by Sky Sports. It was not shown in 2009 because of a dispute between Sky Sports and the NFL over TV rights. ESPN America (formerly North American Sports Network) broadcasts the game in the rest of Europe.
[edit] Game history
- ^ Game ended with 5:29 remaining in the fourth quarter due to severe lightning.
- ^ Game ended with 5:49 remaining in the third quarter due to severe lightning.
[edit] Standings
| Team | W | L | T | Pct. | Last appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Redskins | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2008 |
| Chicago Bears | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2005 |
| Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2006 |
| Carolina Panthers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1995 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 2003 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 1997 |
| New England Patriots | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 2000 |
| Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 2001 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 2000 |
| New York Giants | 2 | 1 | 1 | .625 | 2002 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 3 | 2 | 0 | .600 | 2007 |
| Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | 2008 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | 2006 |
| St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals | 1 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1986 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | 1988 |
| New York Jets | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | 1992 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | 1997 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | 1998 |
| Cleveland Browns | 2 | 3 | 0 | .400 | 1999 |
| Green Bay Packers | 1 | 2 | 1 | .375 | 2003 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 1 | 2 | 0 | .333 | 1994 |
| Denver Broncos | 1 | 2 | 0 | .333 | 2004 |
| Detroit Lions | 1 | 2 | 0 | .333 | 1991 |
| New Orleans Saints | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 2007 |
| San Diego Chargers | 0 | 1 | 1 | .250 | 1994 |
| Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans | 1 | 2 | 0 | .333 | 2009 |
| Houston Texans | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 2002 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 1995 |
| Buffalo Bills | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 2009 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 1999 |
| Miami Dolphins | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 2005 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 0 | 0 | 0 | .----- | N/A |
Most appearances- 5: (tie) Cleveland Browns (1963, 1967, 1981, 1990 and 1999), Pittsburgh Steelers (1963, 1964, 1983, 1998 and 2007) and Washington Redskins (1965, 1975, 1989, 2004, and 2008)
Most wins- 5: Washington Redskins (1965, 1975, 1989, 2004 and 2008)
Longest active drought without Hall of Fame Game appearance- 23 seasons: Arizona Cardinals (last appearance - 1986 [as St. Louis Cardinals]); 21 seasons: Cincinnati Bengals (last appearance - 1988)
Active teams to have never made a Hall of Fame Game appearance- 1: Baltimore Ravens (founded 1996)
All three Cardinals appearances have been as the St. Louis Cardinals; they are the NFC team with the longest current absence from the game. The Cincinnati Bengals, who last appeared in 1988, are the AFC team with the longest current absence.
[edit] References
- 2006 NFL Record and Fact Book. p. 401. ISBN 1-933405-32-5.
- "AFC-NFC Hall of Fame Game". Pro Football Hall of Fame. http://www.profootballhof.com/enshrinement/game.html. Retrieved 2006-09-08.
