The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton is now a nationally accredited museum. It’s the first major sports hall of fame to hold that designation.
Like the Smithsonian or the Ohio History Center in Columbus the Pro Football Hall of Fame is now on the register of the American Alliance of Museums.
Hall of Fame Executive Director Joe Horrigan says it has taken four years of planning and a year of review and evaluation by the Alliance, but the accreditation is worth it. “It challenged us to bring ourselves up to the highest standards possible for best practices in a museum. And we achieved that. It’s a rigorous process. But it reinforces our commitment really; to making sure that we maintain a level of professionalism that is expected of a first class museum.”
Horrigan says part of the reason for working toward the accreditation-- which is only awarded to about 3% of American museums--is the pending 100th anniversary of the founding of National Football League in Canton.
