Editing Canton, Ohio (section)

===Football history===
[[File:Canton bulldogs 1923.jpg|thumb|The 1923 [[Canton Bulldogs]] were [[History of the National Football League championship|NFL champions]]]]

On September 17, 1920, a meeting was held at the [[Hupmobile]] showroom in the [[Independent Order of Odd Fellows]] Building in Canton to found the [[American Professional Football Association]] (renamed the National Football League in 1922). The attendees included [[Ralph Hay]], owner of the Hupmobile showroom and the hometown [[Canton Bulldogs]], and [[George Halas]], owner of the [[Decatur Staleys]]. [[Jim Thorpe]] of the Bulldogs was the league's first president.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/news/the-birth-of-the-national-football-league|title=The Birth of the National Football League|last=Klein|first=Christopher|website=history.com|language=en|access-date=February 18, 2019}}</ref> In 2014 a sculpture titled ''Birth of the NFL'' was erected in downtown Canton marking the exact location in the Hupmobile showroom where the NFL was created in 1920.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cantonrep.com/article/20140801/News/140809905|title='Birth of the NFL' statue unveiled|last=Lisko|first=B.J.|website=The Repository|language=en|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref>

On December 6, 1959, the ''[[The Repository|Canton Repository]]'', a local newspaper, called for city officials to lobby the [[National Football League]] to create a football hall of fame in the community. Canton officials formally proposed their city as the site for the Hall of Fame in 1961. The NFL quickly agreed to the city's proposal. To help convince NFL officials to locate the Hall of Fame in Canton, city officials donated several acres of land on Canton's north side to the project. Local residents also raised almost $400,000 to help construct the Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Pro_Football_Hall_of_Fame|title=Pro Football Hall of Fame |website=www.ohiohistorycentral.org|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref>

The [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]] formally opened on September 7, 1963. Initially, the museum consisted of two buildings, but in 1971, 1978, 1995, and 2013, the Pro Football Hall of Fame experienced several expansions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.profootballhof.com/visit/hall-of-fame-history/|title=History of the Pro Football Hall of Fame |website=www.profootballhof.com|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref> As of 2013, the museum consisted of five buildings, covering 118,000 square feet. Since its founding, over 10 million people have visited the Pro Football Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.profootballhof.com/pro-football-hall-of-fame-welcomes-10-millionth-visitor/|title=Pro Football Hall of Fame Welcomes 10 Millionth Visitor |website=www.profootballhof.com|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref> "Welcome to Canton" is the official way of saying congratulations to a new enshrinee.