Editor’s note: Michael Schuman is a freelance travel writer whose articles have been published by multiple publications across the United States. Portions of this article are also featured at offbeattravel.com.
The Civil War had been over for just four years, and baseball was starting to stake its claim as America’s pastime. But on Nov. 6, 1869, on the campus of Rutgers College (today Rutgers University) in New Brunswick, New Jersey, a new sport was about to touch down. What is recorded as the first football game ever played took place that fall day as Rutgers beat the College of New Jersey (today Princeton University) by a baseball-like score of 6-4.
Today’s football fans would have to use a lot of imagination to recognize the game as football. It was more like a hybrid of soccer and rugby, and the ball was round, made of rubber. Passing the ball was not allowed. Neither was running with the ball. The only way to score was by kicking the ball into one’s opponent’s goal.
The evolution of the sport is among the topics explored at two complexes opened to enthusiasts and tourists alike that are dedicated to all things pigskin: the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, and the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown Atlanta.
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Forty-three years after the American Professional Football Association — later renamed the National Football League — was founded in Canton, Ohio, the Pro Football Hall of Fame opened its doors in the same town on Sept. 7, 1963.
It has been renovated and updated several times since then, the last in 2013, but the iconic Jim Thorpe sculpture is still there, greeting visitors as it has for years. The difference is its surroundings. Not far from Thorpe is one of the newest exhibits, a collection of football cards dating from 1888.
The requisite retired jerseys and commemorative footballs are here, like the two-tone ball honoring Bill Belichick’s 200th regular-season win. But what is even more inspiring are personal stories of noteworthy players such as Kenny Washington and Woody Strode, the players broke the pro football color barrier by joining the Los Angeles Rams in 1946, a year before Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color line.
High tech meets tradition in “A Game for Life,” a holographic theater experience where players who excelled beyond football tell how the game helped them develop character. Visitors sit in a mock locker room and watch as former Vikings defensive tackle Alan Page explains how after retiring from the game he attended law school and now occupies a bench on Minnesota’s Supreme Court, or listen as retired Bills quarterback Jim Kelly talks about overcoming the death of a young son and his bout with cancer.
Other galleries cover a range of topics: Pro Football Today, the NFL’s First Century and the Lamar Hunt Super Bowl Gallery with the Vince Lombardi Trophy shining front and center.
You can also play a bit of dress-up by suiting up in shoulder pads, or compare your build to a NFL athlete by seeing how your hands, arms and thighs compare to the corresponding body molds of NFL players such as Willie McGinest, Cortez Kennedy and Jerome Bettis. It can be humbling.
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta is the third iteration of a museum dedicated to the history of the college sport. After attendance fell short at halls of fame near Cincinnati and in South Bend, Indiana, the hall in Atlanta opened in August 2014.
The initial eye-catcher in the College Football Hall of Fame is the wall of helmets; there are helmets from 773 colleges and universities decking the wall in the entrance lobby. Just after entering, a hall staff member will help you register with one college team and receive an all-access pass. Immediately afterward, your team helmet will light up. With your possession of the pass, your school’s name will pop up as you explore the museum's hands-on activities, from singing the college’s fight song to practicing passing, kicking and tackling.
Memorable games, legendary coaches and all the accoutrements of the college football experiences are explored. Visitors can do everything from play coach by designing formations to choreograph a halftime routine.
Like other distinctive college football pastimes, tailgating’s roots go way back. Life-size tableaux of fans in coonskin coats with wicker picnic baskets give way to the mid-century when the Grove at Old Miss was the Holy Grail of tailgating parties. Twenty-first-century high-tech tailgating is represented with live mobile satellite television systems for cars and RVs and gas-powered margarita blenders.
The actual hall of fame section might seem underwhelming. While the 310 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees are eternized with bronze busts, there are no plaques or busts at the College Football Hall of Fame. Members are listed year by year on panels that can be turned and at the push of a button, you can learn about each member. With 1,201 hall members, this is the best way to conserve space and leave room for more interactive galleries.
If you go ...
College Football Hall of Fame: 250 Marietta St. NW, Atlanta, Georgia, Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., $19.99 for adults, $17.99 for seniors, students and military, $16.99 for children ages 3-12 (404-880-4800 or cfbhall.com)
Pro Football Hall of Fame: 2121 George Halas Drive NW, Canton, Ohio, 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Memorial Day-Labor Day; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. the rest of the year, $25 for ages 13-64, $21 for ages 65 and up, $18 for children ages 6-12 (330-456-8207 or profootballhof.com)
Michael Schuman graduated cum laude from Syracuse University in 1975 and received an MFA in professional writing from the University of Southern California in 1977. He lives with his family in New England and can be reached at mschuman@ne.rr.com.