Pro Football Hall of Fame

I'd always wanted to visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I doubted I'd be this close to Canton, Ohio anytime soon so I decided to go a little out of my way on my route to Philadelphia to see it. Admission set me back a ridiculous $21 but when I was looking at pictures after my visit I realized I actually had a pretty good time.

Part shrine, part museum, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is in Canton because that's where pro football originated. In addition to honoring the game's elite with bronze busts, it is a collection of artifacts and arcana related to the National Football League and its forerunners, competitors, franchises, luminaries, superstars, and their feats.

Many of the items on display were worn by players in championship or record-setting situations. I particularly like an exhibit on competing leagues that failed to gain market share against the NFL and teams that folded . Who knew the Milwaukee Badgers were once a football team? Or the Columbus Panhandles, Frankford Yellowjackets, or Washington Senators?

My favorite artifacts included a football dating back to the 1890s, a Duluth Eskimos jersey, the pen LBJ used to sign the law permitting the merger of the NFL and AFL, the trophy that will be awarded to the winner of this year's Super Bowl, and the Green Bay Packers most recent Super Bowl ring.