Editing Canton, Ohio (section)

==Sports==

===Football===
{{see also|History of the National Football League|Pro Football Hall of Fame Game}}
{{multiple image
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 | image1 = Pro Football Hall of Fame.jpg
 | caption1 = Entrance to the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]]
 | image2 = Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.png
 | caption2 = [[Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium]] is home to the annual [[Pro Football Hall of Fame Game]] and in 2023 served as a hub for the [[USFL (2022)|USFL]].
}}

Canton is home to the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]]. The [[American Professional Football Association]], the forerunner of the modern [[National Football League]], was founded in a Canton car dealership on September 17, 1920. The [[Canton Bulldogs]] were an NFL football team that played from 1920 to 1923, skipped the 1924 season, then played from 1925 to 1926 before folding.

Canton is the home of the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival, which includes a [[hot air balloon festival]], ribs burn-off, fashion show, community parade, Sunday morning race, enshrinee dinner, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame Grand Parade. The festival culminates in the enshrinement of the new inductees and the NFL/Hall of Fame Game, a pre-season exhibition between teams representing the AFC and NFC at [[Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.profootballhoffestival.com/|title=Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival {{!}} Canton, Ohio|website=www.profootballhoffestival.com|access-date=December 2, 2016}}</ref>

[[Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium]], used during the regular season by [[Canton McKinley High School]] (as well as some other area schools and colleges), was rated the number one high school football venue in America by the ''Sporting News'' in 2002.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.timesreporter.com/article/20150602/SPECIAL-REPORTS/150609973|title=Fawcett Stadium history|date=June 2, 2015|newspaper=Times Reporter|access-date=December 2, 2016}}</ref> This may be partly attributable to the Bulldogs' rivalry with the nearby [[Massillon Washington High School|Massillon Washington High School Tigers]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.si.com/vault/1994/11/14/132581/the-centurians-massillon-mckinley-is-always-ohios-game-of-the-year-this-one-was-the-game-of-the-century|title=The Centurians|last=Montville|first=Leigh|date=November 14, 1994|newspaper=SI.com|access-date=December 2, 2016}}</ref> All seven of the [[Ohio High School Athletic Association]] state final football games are hosted in Canton at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

The [[Canton Legends]] played in the [[American Indoor Football Association]] at the [[Canton Civic Center]]. Operations were suspended in 2009. The [[Continental Indoor Football League]] also has offices in Canton.

For the 2023 [[USFL (2022)|United States Football League (USFL) season]], Canton served as the hub for the [[New Jersey Generals (2022)|New Jersey Generals]] and [[Pittsburgh Maulers (2022)|Pittsburgh Maulers]], with both teams playing their designated home games at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.<ref>[https://www.wkyc.com/article/sports/usfl-canton-pittsburgh-maulers-new-jersey-generals-tom-benson-hall-of-fame-stadium/95-0713a750-fb75-4adb-a495-797f7a048190 USFL games in Canton to start Sunday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium – WKYC.com]</ref>

===Other===
The first official [[female bodybuilding]] competition was held in Canton in November 1977 and was called the Ohio Regional Women's Physique Championship.<ref name="Women of Steel">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X-80e42RtW0C&pg=PA55|title=Women of Steel: Female Bodybuilders and the Struggle for Self-definition|first=Maria R.|last=Lowe|date=1998|publisher=NYU Press|access-date=March 3, 2017|via=Google Books|isbn=9780814750940}}</ref>

For 10 seasons, Canton was home to an [[NBA G League]] team, the [[Canton Charge]], which started play with the 2011–12 season and home games at the [[Canton Memorial Civic Center]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://canton.dleague.nba.com/|title=Home – Canton Charge|website=Canton Charge|language=en-US|access-date=December 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160501010906/http://canton.dleague.nba.com/|archive-date=May 1, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Cleveland Cavaliers]] had full control over the franchise and relocated the franchise in to Cleveland in 2021 when the ten-year lease ended.

The [[Canton Invaders]] of the [[National Professional Soccer League II]] and [[American Indoor Soccer Association]] played home games at the [[Canton Memorial Civic Center]] from 1984 until 1996, winning five league championships. In 2009, the [[Ohio Vortex]] became an expansion team in the [[PASL-Pro|Professional Arena Soccer League]]. Operations have since been suspended.

Canton has been home to professional baseball on several occasions. Several minor league teams called Canton home in the early 1900s, including the [[Canton Terriers]] in the 1920s and 1930s. The [[Canton–Akron Indians]] were the AA affiliate of the major league [[Cleveland Indians]] for nine years, playing at [[Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium]] until the team relocated north to Akron following the 1996 season. Two independent minor league teams, the [[Canton Crocodiles]] and the [[Canton Coyotes]], both members of the Frontier League, called Munson Stadium home for several years afterward. The Crocodiles, who won the league championship in their inaugural season in 1997, moved to Washington, Pennsylvania, in 2002, and the Coyotes moved to Columbia, Missouri, in 2003, after just one season in Canton.

Canton is home to the [[Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps]], a world-class competitor in [[Drum Corps International]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bluecoats.com/about/who-are-the-bluecoats/|title=Who are the Bluecoats?'|access-date=November 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201042353/http://bluecoats.com/about/who-are-the-bluecoats/|archive-date=December 1, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Bluecoats have been a part of the "top five" finalists in the DCI World Championships since 2013, and took home the [[Drum Corps International World Class Champions|Founders' Trophy]] in 2016 and in 2024<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dci.org/news/recap-roundup-2016-dci-world-championship-finals/|title=Recap Roundup: 2016 DCI World Championship Finals'|date=August 14, 2016|publisher=Drum Corps International|access-date=November 29, 2017}}</ref>