The Hockey Hall Of Fame
Posted: Monday, August 09, 2010
by Dr. Carla Goddard
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in the hockey center of the world, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Within its walls you can take a walk back through the history of hockey as we know it today. The Hall of Fame was first established in 1943, although no permanent location happened until 1961. It did not move to it's currently location until 1993. Originally the former President of the CAHA wanted to have the permanent location of the Hall of Fame in Kingston, Ontario. James Sutherland, the CAHA President at the time, believed that Kingston was the original birthplace of hockey.
Each of the 18 committee members can nominate one person in each of the three categories per year. The committee meets in June of each year to vote by secret ballot whom will be indicted. The candidate must receive at least 10 votes in order to be inducted. Players but have been retired for three years to eligible for nomination; however builders can be active or inactive in hockey at present day. There have been certain times when the waiting period has been waived for - Most recently Wayne Gretzky who was deemed exceptionally notable. There are three inductee's that have actually come out of retirement after being inducted to continue their career as a player, Gordie Howe, Guy Lafleur and the name we all know, Mario Lemieux.
In 1999 the first "Hockey Hall of Fame Game" was played that has become a tradition honoring that year's inductees before the Toronto Maple Leafs take on an opposing team.
There has been controversy and criticism of the Hall of Fame for years. Some claiming that it has become an exclusive club of the NHL with comments such as this is not the "NHL Hall of Fame". To appease the masses, an International Hockey exhibit was established. Women hockey players are not the only players overlooked by the Hall of Fame. Many of the famed international players have been excluded from induction. The best known player in Canadian hockey history, Paul Henderson, has been nominated but never inducted into the Hall of Fame. This single player has been the center of controversy for over two decades.
But that is only the beginning of the controversy, there have implications of rigging the nominations to inductee's being convicted of mail fraud and embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the NHL. Hockey has had its fair share of controversy, but for this Tampa Bay Lightning Fan - There is nothing like watching a good hockey game.
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