Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
From Hoopedia
- "Basketball Hall of Fame" redirects here. For the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, see Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. For other uses, see Basketball Hall of Fame (disambiguation).
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame commemorates people in all levels of basktetball. They are represented under one roof. The entire game of basketball comes together in Springfield, Massachusetts, the birthplace of basketball from Dr. James Naismith's invention of basketball in 1891 to the modern game.
Even without a home to display its historic collection, the Hall of Fame started honoring the early legends of basketball. In 1959, the Hall of Fame inducted its first class, appropriately headed by Naismith and Edward J. Hickox. On February 17, 1968, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opened its doors to the public. The Hall welcomed its 100,000 visitor in 1973, but its 300,000 visitor registered three years later, in April 1976.
June 1985 marked the end of one era and the beginning of a new one. On June 9, the Basketball Hall of Fame closed on the campus of Springfield College. The Hall had made Springfield College its home for 17 years, and during that time 630,179 visitors from all over the world paid visit.
On June 30, a new state-of-the-art, $11.5 million, three-level Hall of Fame was unveiled to the public. In the first year of the new Hall of Fame, it attracted 107,836 visitors. In July 1988, the Hall welcomed its one-millionth visitor, and in 1993, the Hall set an attendance record of 173,898 visitors.
The current hall was opened September 28, 2002. The 283 persons and 6 teams enshrined in the hall are honored with two-foot-by-two-foot portraits on the top floor of the three-storey, 80,000-square-foot, and $103-million facility. The hall is designed so that a person looking up from the lower two floors can see the hall of famers' portraits.
There are currently 289 members in the Hall of Fame 135 players, 81 Coaches, 54 Contributors, 13 Referees and 6 Teams 3 members are inducted twice once as a player and once as a coach
- John Wooden 1960 and 1973
- Lenny Wilkens 1989 and 1998
- Bill Sharman 1976 and 2004
Inductees
- deceased
+ inducted twice
