Worldwide Halls Of Fame
I was driving along the other day and on the radio came the song ‘Hall Of Fame’ by Irish band The Script featuring Will.i.am and I started thinking about the actual Halls of Fame around the world and wondered just how many of them were out there and what they recognized.
We’re all a bit familiar with the big ones – Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Country Music Hall of Fame and the Football Hall of Fame but after a little bit of research I discovered that there are hundreds of them throughout the world, celebrating all sorts of weird and wonderful things.
For example did you know there is actually a Polka Hall of Fame? Or how about the Lacrosse Museum and Hall of Fame? You can even pay a visit to the Circus Hall of Fame or even the Internet Hall of Fame if that’s what floats your boat.
So what exactly do you have to do to forever immortalize your name and life’s work by getting into one of these exclusive clubs? The Country Music HoF was created in 1961 by the CMA and each year inducts anywhere from one to twelve new members. In total there are only 121 artists and groups listed starting from the very first three who were Hank Williams, Fred Rose and Jimmie Rodgers. Over the years only 16 women have been named including the first, Patsy Cline, in 1973.
It took some time but in 1983 the Rock & Roll HoF was established by Ahmet Ertegun, the founder of Atlantic Records and in 1986 Cleveland, Ohio was chosen as it’s home and ten artists and bands were officially the first inductees. They included Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley, who by co-incidence is also a Country Music HoF inductee.
Six new members received the honor in 2013 including Heart, Public Enemy, Donna Summer and Randy Newman. It hasn’t been without it’s fair share of criticism and controversy not least of which is because of the decision to induct lead singers of bands but not include the actual band. This was somewhat rectified in 2012 when six bands were included to make up for the glaringly obvious error of believing that a lead singer is the most important and successful aspect of a band!
One of the biggest sports in the UK is horse racing and that too has it’s own HoF and museum which is located in Newmarket and is open to members of the public who want to see it’s vast collections of trophies, paintings, racing memorabilia as well as learning more about the origins and history of racing in the UK and the jockeys, trainers and owners that helped to shape it over the years.
More specifically there is a Grand National Hall of Fame into which five new members were inducted at Aintree earlier this year and they included legendary jockey Ruby Walsh, two times winner on Papillon and Hedgehunter, broadcaster and jockey Richard Pitman, Trevor Hemmings the owner of two winners, Dick Francis the author and Golden Miller who is still the only horse to have ever won both the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup in the same year.
One of the oldest established Halls of Fame is the one for National Baseball which was formed in 1936 and by the time the museum opened in 1939 twenty five members has been inducted including the world famous Babe Ruth who was one of the first. Over the years nearly 300 players, umpires, manages, veterans and writers have been given the honor including Ron Santo of the Chicago Cubs and Barry Larkin of the Cincinnati Reds who both became members in 2012.
Essentially there is a Hall of Fame for practically everything you can think of. Scattered across the world, these are homes to the triumphs and dizzying heights of success and dedicated to those who have reached the pinnacle of the careers. Filled to the brim with history and greatness, it may be worthwhile to pop in and visit one or two of them on your travels.
About The Author
Paul Warrander is a leading contributor on some of the interest’s best horse racing websites. Connect with him on Google Plus.