The Texas Sports Hall of Fame recognizes athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made "lasting fame and honor to Texas sports".[1] It was established in 1951 by the Texas Sports Writers Association. Once it made its first induction (baseball star Tris Speaker) in 1951, Texas became the first U.S. state to have a sports hall of fame.[2]
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History
The organization had no permanent headquarters for its first thirty years. In 1980, after fundraising by the writers association and assistance from the City of Grand Prairie, construction of a building began in February 1980 in Grand Prairie. The building, however, closed down in 1986 due to financial reasons. In 1991, the Hall of Fame moved its headquarters to Waco, after negotiations by the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce.[3]
Selection process
Nominations for the Hall of Fame are open to the public. The selection committee, consisting of at least 21 sports journalists from various Texas newspapers, meets annually to review the nominees and make a ballot.[4] The ballot consists of a primary and veterans section. The Primary Ballot has 20 names, while the Veterans has 12. Dues-paying members of the Hall of Fame vote each year to decide the inductees.[5] The top 6 vote getters of the Primary Ballot and the top 2 of the Veterans are inducted into the Hall of Fame. The top 5 vote getters of each ballot who are not selected are automatically placed into the next year's ballot.[1]
The Hall of Fame, with assistance from the selection committee, notifies the winning nominees once the voting process has completed. The winning nominees, if they accept their induction, must then attend the banquet at Ferrell Center in Waco to be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame. If a nominee rejects their induction, the Hall of Fame inducts the next highest vote getter. If a nominee declines their induction for two consecutive years without a legitimate reason, the nominee will not be eligible for the ballot for another five years.[1]
References
- ^ a b c "Texas Sports Hall of Fame Nominations". http://www.tshof.org/info/nominations/.
- ^ "ORIGIN OF THE TEXAS SPORTS HALL OF FAME". http://www.tshof.org/info/history/.
- ^ "TEXAS SPORTS HALL OF FAME". http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/TT/xnt1.html.
- ^ "Texas Sports Hall of Fame". http://www.texasalmanac.com/recreation/sports.pdf.
- ^ "Texas Sports Hall of Fame: How it Works". http://www.tshof.org/become/how/.
External links
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