Finding a Home for the Hall
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is in Springfield, Massachusetts, and enshrines not just players and coaches but referees and other major contributors to the game. It also includes six entire teams. The Hall is dedicated to preserving basketball history and is considered the greatest historical asset of the game. It was established in 1959, though an actual facility did not open until 1968 at Springfield College, where James Naismith started the sport with peach baskets as an effort to build teamwork and keep his students physically active during cold winter months.
WORDS TO KNOW
Induction means a person is put into the Hall of Fame or “enshrined” or made a member of an institution.
An analyst sits alongside the play-by-play announcer at a basketball game and explains why players or coaches did what they did. Often, former coaches and players make the best analysts because they experienced the same things during their own careers that the coaches and players are doing.
In 2002, the Hall of Fame opened its current 80,000-square-foot building. As they approach, fans are greeted by the sight of a huge silver basketball and an orange globe atop sky-reaching spires.
The Hall has three floors. The Honors Ring overlooks the entire Hall. It has photos and a display of Hall-of-Famers's artifacts including shoes, jerseys, and basketballs. The second floor has the Players Gallery, the Hooperactive Zone, Coaches Gallery, Broadcast section, and College section, which has most of the items in the hall. There are also exhibits that show how the game was invented, including handwritten notes and speeches from Naismith. The Hall's Center Court features a full basketball court where fans can shoot baskets.
