Pro Football Hall of Fame Game
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section is missing citations or needs footnotes. Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (February 2008) |
The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game is an annual National Football League pre-season exhibition game that is held the weekend of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's induction ceremonies. The game is played at Fawcett Stadium, which is located next door to the Hall of Fame building in Canton, Ohio.
The two teams that play in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game are selected by the league, which since 1971 has been one AFC team vs. one NFC team. Because this game and the Hall of Fame's induction ceremonies are scheduled on the weekend before the league's regular four-week pre-season begins, both teams end up playing five pre-season games instead of the normal four and (unlike the Canadian Football League) the league does not take away another preseason game in another week.
Since 1995, expansion teams usually played the Hall of Fame Game as their first ever NFL contest; the teams that have done so thus far are Jacksonville Jaguars and the Carolina Panthers matchup in 1995, and the Houston Texans in 2002. The only exception to an expansion franchise not playing at this venue is the Baltimore Ravens. It is assumed that this is because the team was considered a moved franchise although it is officially recognized as an expansion franchise founded in 1996 as a result of the NFL, City of Cleveland agreement.
Contents |
[edit] Television and radio
From 1999-2005, the game was held on Monday night, televised as part of ABC's Monday Night Football package. It had previously been held typically on Saturday afternoons. Starting in 2006, it was moved to Sunday night, coinciding with the new NBC Sunday Night Football television package. The 2007 game was telecast on NFL Network as NBC was intending to televise the China Bowl game in Beijing, China (a game which was postponed to 2009). The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the New Orleans Saints 20-7 in the 2007 game, giving new head coach Mike Tomlin the win in his first game as an NFL head coach.
Westwood One owns national radio rights; it is the only preseason game to air on a nationwide network. Each team's radio network is also allowed to broadcast the games (albeit usually with fewer affiliates since preseason games are traditionally much lower priority to non-sports and non-flagship stations).
[edit] Game history
- ^ Game ended with 5:29 remaining in the fourth quarter due to severe lightning.
- ^ Game ended with 5:49 remaining in the third quarter due to severe lightning
[edit] Standings
| Team | W- | L- | T | Pct. | Last appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bears | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2005 |
| Washington Redskins | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2004 |
| Oakland Raiders | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2006 |
| Carolina Panthers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1995 |
| Cleveland Browns | 2 | 3 | 0 | .400 | 1999 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 1996 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 2003 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 1997 |
| New England Patriots | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 2000 |
| St. Louis Rams | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 2001 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 2000 |
| New York Giants | 2 | 1 | 1 | .625 | 2002 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 3 | 2 | 0 | .600 | 2007 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | 2006 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 1 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1986 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | 1988 |
| New York Jets | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | 1992 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | 1997 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | 1998 |
| Green Bay Packers | 1 | 2 | 1 | .375 | 2003 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 1 | 2 | 0 | .333 | 1994 |
| Denver Broncos | 1 | 2 | 0 | .333 | 2004 |
| Detroit Lions | 1 | 2 | 0 | .333 | 1991 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 0 | 0 | 0 | .----- | N/A |
| New Orleans Saints | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 2007 |
| San Diego Chargers | 0 | 1 | 1 | .250 | 1994 |
| Houston Texans | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 2002 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 1995 |
| Buffalo Bills | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 1989 |
| Tennessee Titans | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 1985 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 1999 |
| Miami Dolphins | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 2005 |
Arizona totals include St. Louis Cardinals
Cleveland totals include original franchise
Indianapolis totals include Baltimore Colts
Oakland totals include Los Angeles Raiders
St. Louis totals include Los Angeles Rams
Tennessee totals include Houston Oilers
Most appearances- 5: (tie) Cleveland Browns (1963, 1967, 1981, 1990 and 1999), Pittsburgh Steelers (1963, 1964, 1983, 1998 and 2007) and Washington Redskins (1965, 1975, 1989, 2004, and 2008)
Most wins- 4: (tie) Chicago Bears (1968, 1977, 1990 and 2005) and Washington Redskins (1965, 1975, 1989 and 2004)
Longest active drought without Hall of Fame Game appearance- 22 seasons: Tennessee Titans (last appearance- 1985 {as Houston Oilers})
Active teams to have never made a Hall of Fame Game appearance- 1: Baltimore Ravens (founded 1996)
[edit] References
- 2006 NFL Record and Fact Book, 401. ISBN 1-933405-32-5.
- AFC-NFC Hall of Fame Game. Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
