Overview
Sporting Halls of Fame have been the repositories for the memories, highlights and legends of America's favorite games since 1939, when the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was established in picturesque Cooperstown, New York. Now, for the first time, all of the history, color and lore of the 12 most prominent Halls of Fame in North America are collected in one handsome volume. Packed cover-to-cover with vivid photographs and incisive, informative essays on the founding of each Hall and its most famous members, Sports Illustrated's Halls of Fame delivers the definitive portrait of the shrines to our most beloved sports.Induction into the Hall of Fame is the ultimate honor for any athlete. And now Sports Illustrated presents the ultimate fan's guide to that honor. Bringing history alive, Sports Illustrated's Halls of Fame starts its journey in Cooperstown -- site of the most famous athletic museum in the country, if not the world -- and visits the Halls of Fame for football and basketball, as well as tennis, golf, hockey and many more.
Read about the origins of each Hall and scan the complete list of its members before absorbing the entertaining profiles -- and fact-filled stat boxes -- on the most famous Hall-of-Famers from each sport. In baseball, you'll find memorable portraits of legendary performers such as the towering Babe Ruth, the irascible Ty Cobb and the effervescent Willie Mays. In football, among many others, our highlighted greats include the indestructible Jim Brown, pioneering Red Grange and perhaps football's greatest performer in the clutch, Joe Montana.
From the rinks of yore, we present hockey superstars as well, including the revolutionary Bobby Orr, ironman Gordie Howe and the game's most prolific scorer, Wayne Gretzky. Tennis and golf have their places of honor too, with our featured stars ranging from Grand Slammer Rod Laver in the '60s to the indomitable Martina Navratilova in the '80s, and from the steely calm of Ben Hogan to the disciplined brilliance of Jack Nicklaus, whose 18 professional majors stand as the ultimate challenge for any golfer following in his footsteps.
Finally, we present member rosters and organizational information for Halls of Fame associated with six other sports: soccer, horse racing, boxing, swimming, NASCAR and track and field. Strikingly illustrated by some of history's best sports photography, SI's Halls of Fame is your key to unlock the treasure trove of sporting memories contained in every Hall of Fame. With 176 pages and more than 200 vivid photographs, Halls of Fame is Sports Illustrated's definitive take on sports' most hallowed halls.