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Pro Football Hall of Fame Game

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Pro Football Hall of Fame Game
Fawcett Stadium before the start of the 2006 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game
Fawcett Stadium before the start of the 2006 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game

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 Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, which is located adjacent to the Hall of Fame building in Canton, Ohio. It is traditionally the first game in the NFL's preseason, marking the end of the NFL's six-month offseason.

Team selection

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 if a particularity notable player will be entering the Hall of Fame that year a team they were strongly associated with may be selected to play in the game to help maximize attendance and publicity of the game itself. Since 1971, the opponents for each game have traditionally 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, 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,[1] but it was canceled due to the 2011 NFL lockout; the following year, another intra-conference matchup of two NFC teams took its place. Since 2011, each of the two teams in the game has had at least one prominent alumnus being inducted into the Hall that year.

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.

Expansion clubs

The last four expansion teams to have been added to the league each played in the Hall of Fame Game as their first game. In 1995, expansion clubs Jacksonville and Carolina played one another, and in 2002, Houston was one of the participants. When the Cleveland Browns returned to the league with a rebooted roster in 1999, they too played in the Hall of Fame Game. (The Baltimore Ravens, while officially considered as being established in 1996, did not play in the Hall of Fame Game that year, nor have they played at any time in their existence.)

Scheduling

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 2002, it was not uncommon for the game to be played in July. Since 2002, 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.

The 2011 game was originally scheduled between the St. Louis Rams and the Chicago Bears, but was game was canceled due to 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.

A game between the Packers and the Colts to start the 2016 preseason was cancelled and was not rescheduled due to unplayable turf conditions.

Television and radio

Unlike the majority of NFL preseason games, which air on local networks, the Hall of Fame Game airs nationwide. 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, 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. 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 canceled). The Hall of Fame Game has since bounced between both networks. The 2012 game aired on NFL Network due to NBC's coverage of the Summer Olympics. After a two-year absence, the game returned to NBC in 2013 and remained on the network until 2015. The 2016 game was scheduled to air on ESPN as it was to be played two days into the 2016 Summer Olympics but the game was canceled due to field conditions, it will return to NBC in 2017 and will remain on the network until 2019.

Westwood One owns national radio rights; it is the only preseason 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 both Ireland and the United Kingdom 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.

From 1998 to 2005, the Global Television Network aired the game in Canada, simulcasting ABC; upon the move to Sunday night in 2006, the CTV Television Network aired the game until 2010. With CTV airing the 2012 Summer Olympics, TSN broadcast the Hall of Fame Game in 2012. Azteca 7 aired Spanish-language coverage of the Hall of Fame Game in Mexico from 1998 to 2005; the Game moved to Canal 5 in 2006 and aired on that station until 2010. Due to the cancellation of the 2011 Hall of Fame Game and Televisa's Summer Olympics coverage, the Hall of Fame Game moved to Televisa Deportes in 2012 and then to Galavision in 2013.

Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium is within 75 miles of numerous television markets in northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania (and is part of the Cleveland market); as such, the NBC affiliates (and before them, the ABC affiliates) are within league requirements to blackout the game in the rare event the game would not sell out. Because the stadium only holds 22,375 fans (less than half the NFL's minimum requirements for its stadiums) and the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies bring large numbers of outside fans to Canton, the game has, to date, always sold out (several NFL teams, as well as the Super Bowl, have similarly enjoyed long sellout streaks).

Game history

Date Away team Away score Home team Home score Recap
August 11, 1962 New York Giants 21 St. Louis Cardinals 21 Recap
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 [A]
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 Kansas City Chiefs 9 Green Bay Packers 0 Recap [B]
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 Chicago Bears St. Louis Rams [C]
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 Green Bay Packers Indianapolis Colts [D]
August 6, 2017 - - -

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
Minnesota Vikings 3 1 0 .750 2015
Pittsburgh Steelers 3 3 0 .500 2015
New England Patriots 2 1 0 .667 2000
San Francisco 49ers 2 1 0 .667 2000
Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams 2 1 0 .667 2001
Kansas City Chiefs 2 1 0 .667 2003
New York Giants 3 1 1 .625 2014
Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts 2 2 0 .500 2008
Philadelphia Eagles 2 2 0 .500 2006
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
New Orleans Saints 2 3 0 .400 2012
Dallas Cowboys 2 3 0 .400 2013
St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals 1 2 1 .375 2012
Green Bay Packers 1 2 1 .375 2003
Cincinnati Bengals 1 2 0 .333 2010
Atlanta Falcons 1 2 0 .333 1994
Denver Broncos 1 2 0 .333 2004
Detroit Lions 1 2 0 .333 1991
Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans 1 2 0 .333 2009
San Diego Chargers 0 1 1 .250 1994
Baltimore Ravens 0 0 0 N/A
Houston Texans 0 1 0 .000 2002
Jacksonville Jaguars 0 1 0 .000 1995
Buffalo Bills 0 4 0 .000 2014
Miami Dolphins 0 4 0 .000 2013

Most appearances – 6: Pittsburgh Steelers (1963, 1964, 1983, 1998, 2007, and 2015)

Most wins – 5: Washington Redskins (1965, 1975, 1989, 2004, and 2008)

Longest active drought without Hall of Fame Game appearance – 24 seasons: Detroit Lions (last appearance – 1991); 23 seasons: New York Jets (last appearance – 1992); 21 seasons: Atlanta Falcons and San Diego Chargers (last appearance – 1994); 20 seasons: Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars (last appearance – 1995)

Active teams to have never made a Hall of Fame Game appearance – Baltimore Ravens

The Detroit Lions, who last appeared in 1991, are the NFC team with the longest current absence from the game. The New York Jets, who last appeared in 1992, are the AFC team with the longest current absence from the game.

Notes

  1. ^ Game ended with 5:29 remaining in the fourth quarter due to severe lightning.
  2. ^ Game ended with 5:49 remaining in the third quarter due to severe lightning.
  3. ^ Canceled due to 2011 NFL lockout.
  4. ^ Canceled due to field conditions.

References

  1. ^ "Individual Tickets & Festival Fan Packages". Profootballhof.com. Retrieved September 28, 2012.