The History of the NHL Hall of Fame

Given the history of the NHL, there have been plenty of players that fans would consider great. To honor the best to have taken the ice, the NHL Hall of Fame recognizes those on a yearly basis. Plenty has happened since its foundation in 1943, so we’ve broken down the NHL Hall of Fame history.

Founder and First Location

For NHL Hall of Fame history, it’s worth beginning with one name – James Sutherland. He was vital to its origin, and as the former president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA), he advocated for it to be established in Kingston, Ontario. That’s where it was founded on September 10, 1943.

It was on that day that the CAHA and NHL partnered to establish what was dubbed the International Hockey Hall of Fame, and interestingly enough, it was the mayor of Kingston – Stuart Crawford, who was named as the president. Unfortunately, while officially founded on this day, it would be significantly later that its construction would ultimately be complete.

In fact, it wasn’t until the 1960s that the physical building would go up, and given insufficient funds throughout the process, its home became Toronto. Worse yet, Sutherland passed away in 1955, so he never even saw his vision come to fruition. 

The Move and Expansion

The aforementioned building in Toronto was the permanent home of the NHL Hall of Fame until 1986, but they needed more room to accommodate the rich history of the game. It was that year in which they decided that a new home was needed, and like the first construction, they officially made the move years later.

However, this time, the wait wasn’t nearly as long. The new facility opened on June 18, 1993, in Brookfield Place, with a size that was seven times larger than the original location. Within the first year of the new location opening, there were over half a million visitors, which led to even more retail ideas.

World of Hockey Zone and Exhibits

One of those ideas was an exhibit known as the World of Hockey Zone. It opened almost exactly five years after the new facility on June 28, 1998, and it is an area dedicated to hockey history outside North America.

That includes the Olympics, and even the International Hockey Federation agreed to transfer their artifacts to the exhibit. Perhaps one of the most notable attractions is the “Miracle of Ice” game from the 19080 Winter Olympics, despite it focusing on North American teams. It’s also worth noting that a section dedicated to women’s hockey has also taken residence.

Selection roPcess

We couldn’t share the full history without also touching upon the selection process for its inductees. There are three categories under which individuals must fall to be considered – a player, builder or referee/linesman. The term builder encompasses coaches, managers and other office roles.

The selection committee for the inductees consists of 18 members, and they are a part of that committee for a duration of three years. Nominees are inducted with a vote of 75% or higher, those between 50-75% are reconsidered, and those who receive less than 50% are removed from consideration. Between the three types of nominees, there are a total of 430 inductees, 299 of which are players.