The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, is taking its show on the road, and its first stop is Pittsburgh, considered the birthplace of the game.

Pro football exhibit to debut here in fall


April 10, 2012 12:11 am

Share with others: By Torsten Ove / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, is taking its show on the road, and its first stop is Pittsburgh, considered the birthplace of the game.

The Heinz History Center will host a traveling exhibit from the hall for three months this upcoming fall and winter that pays homage to the history of professional football.

Hall of Famer Franco Harris and Steelers President Art Rooney II will be at the center this morning to announce the premiere, along with the hall's vice president Joe Horrigan and history center president Andy Masich,

The exhibit, "Gridiron Glory: The Best of the Pro Football Hall of Fame," will be at the center from Oct. 6 to Jan. 6 and then embark on a nationwide tour.

Mr. Masich and Mr. Horrigan said Pittsburgh is the ideal place for what Mr. Masich called "the blockbuster exhibit in Pennsylvania" for 2012, considering the game's roots here and the tradition of the Steelers.

This year marks the team's 80th season and the 40th anniversary of Mr. Harris' "immaculate reception" in 1972.

"Pittsburgh happens to be the home of professional football -- it all started here in 1892," Mr. Masich said.

"There's a lot of good synergy. This is the perfect segue into the national tour," Mr. Horrigan said of the Pittsburgh debut. "If all goes well, we would hope the exhibit will go on for five to seven years. We hope to get it into as many venues as we can."

The exhibit will include more than 200 artifacts, rare photos and documents from the hall's collections.

Among them:

• The 1892 Allegheny Athletic Association accounting ledger featuring Pudge Heffelfinger, considered the first professional football player. (He was paid $500.)