Vince Carter, Michael Cooper, Chauncey Billups and others are entering the Hall of Fame, the pantheon of the discipline. A place dreamed of by all the protagonists of the basketball scene – 450 of them are already represented there – and legendary for fans from around the world.
Every year, nearly 200,000 people come to visit the 4,000 m2 of this flashy museum dedicated to the history of the orange ball. For comparison, the Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon attracts around 100,000 more.
The origin of this monument is distant, very distant. Springfield is where it all begins. “ Humble beginnings » as it is written on the institution's website. Where a city campus physical education teacher introduces a new game to his class of 18 young men in a gymnasium. It is December 1891, James Naismith has just invented basketball.
Nine years of work…
The founding father, a native of Ontario, died in 1939. But his name resurfaced twenty years later within the first Hall of Fame promotion in history. At his side in 1959, George Mikan, the first Celtics and a host of “contributors” to the discipline. The institution then has no physical structure.
The idea of launching such a structure was born a few years before the death of James Naismith, when baseball had just opened its own, in 1936. The entry of the United States into the Second World War, in 1941, rejected any idea of creating a basketball Hall of Fame. But in 1949, the National Association of Basketball Coaches reaffirmed its commitment to honoring the game and its inventor.
Problem: there is no money in the coffers. The first sod was given in September 1959, but due to the difficulty in finding funds, the pantheon, of which a photo from the time shows a fairly austere building built at Springfield College, would not open its doors until… nine years later.
In 1963, only $195,000 was raised to ensure construction, but a little more than a year later, approximately $250,000 was paid by the metropolitan area of Springfield to keep the site running smoothly. The total cost of the structure is estimated at $1,156,400.
Expectations from James Naismith's son
February 18, 1968 was the big day. The general public can discover this pantheon which already has 43 basketball players in the spotlight. A little less than 1,200 people were welcomed for the inauguration, including a certain James Sherman Naismith Jr, the son of the eminent professor.
“ I don't want that (the story of) this Hall of Fame ends today. I want to see him grow, improve and attract the attention of the nation “, he then blurted out, in the form of a premonitionwhile the director of the premises, Lee Williams, describes this opening as “ great start “.
At the same time, the NBA continues to grow over the years and produce legends who come to fuel the young structure. Red Auerbach (inducted in 1969), Bob Pettit and Bob Cousy (1971), Maurice Podoloff (1974), Bill Russell (1975), Elgin Baylor (1977), Wilt Chamberlain (1979), Jerry West and Oscar Robertson (1980)…
As it fills up, the Hall of Fame begins to run out of space. As the centennial anniversary of the birth of the sport approaches, a move, without leaving Springfield, is necessary. Known for his qualities in attracting funds, Lee Williams dreams of a larger building to match the growing popularity of the discipline, boosted by the first matches between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
Chronic pessimism
“ When I arrived here two years before the old building opened, all I found was a foundation, a hole in the ground and chronic pessimism “, he describes to the New York Times ahead of the opening of the new structure, in 1985, in front of 10,000 people this time. He must supervise the movement of thousands of boxes of souvenirs from the old sanctuary, located about five kilometers away.
“ Do you know how I got this jersey that (Walt) Frazier wore in the 1975 All-Star Game in Phoenix (editor’s note: where the Knicks player finished as MVP) ? », then questions the manager to the journalist. Lee Williams happened to be sitting behind the East All-Star bench that day. “ When KC Jones, who was coaching the East, brought Walt Frazier out to rest, I leaned over and asked him if we could have his jersey if he was named MVP. He smiled, shook his head and said, 'Yes, Mr. Williams.' »
Quite simply. In 1987, the New York legend obtained his place in a gigantic and modernized sanctuary, spanning three floors and costing $11.5 million. Beyond equipment, the Hall of Fame stands out as the first to recognize the contributions of women to the sport.
In 1985, it honors Senda Berenson Abbottthe “First Lady” of basketball, who introduced this new sport to the women of Smith College in 1892, just months after its invention. Coaching legends Bertha Teague and Margaret Wade are also honored. The pantheon becomes more inclusive, like the game itself.
Jerry Colangelo to the rescue
Meanwhile, the legends continue to flow in – Julius Erving in 1993, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1995, George Gervin in 1996, Larry Bird in 1998, Isiah Thomas in 2000… – as do the public. There are more visitors than imagined. What about a third version of the Hall of Fame? No less than 103 million dollars will be necessary to see it emerge from the ground in 2002.
That year, Drazen Petrovic, Magic Johnson and even Larry Brown made their comeback. They are the first to take their place in the “Honors Ring” which overlooks the regulation-sized basketball court, where the game never stops thanks to the passage of visitors.
Twenty years later, John L. Doleva. thinks of being at the head of what must become the “ best sports museum in the world “. It is undergoing a serious renovation project to the tune of $30 million ahead of the 2020 ceremony. A member since 2004, Jerry Colangelo has among the “saviors” of a structure always looking for financial stability. The NBA has just covered $12 million in debt…
“ They were in great, great difficulty. Doors could close as quickly as they were opened. It was serious. They asked me for help », Reports the manager at the time, who managed in a few days to raise 6 million dollars by asking all the franchise owners to pay an amount equivalent to that which he had promised to the Hall of Fame.
By soliciting the boss of Nike, Phil Knight, Jerry Colangelo will obtain millions of additional dollars to allow the pantheon to breathe again. And the stars continue to gather.
