Pickleball Magazine 6-5 WD | Page 50

INTRODUCING USA PICKLEBALL HALL OF FAME

By Keith Wolverton
CHAIRMAN , USA PICKLEBALL HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM

USA Pickleball Hall of Fame is not unique but is simply a continuation of Halls of Fame practices all over the USA . So , what ’ s the story behind the scenes ? How did this group get organized ? When did it come into being , and why did USA Pickleball , the governing body for the sport , decide to form an affiliate organization ? These are all good questions , and the answers to these and other questions will be provided to you in the following paragraphs .

First , some history of Halls of Fame . Henry Mitchell MacCracken , the chancellor of New York University , is believed to have established the very first Hall of Fame in the 1900s . Through private funding from a member of the Jay Gould family , MacCracken hoped the Hall of Fame would teach that leaders in science and education could be as great as recognized military and naval heroes and that the Hall of Fame “ would overrule sectional and partisan outcry .” MacCracken evidently knew that the status quo would be upset , but believed the Hall of Fame would benefit the overall public .
Fast-forward to 1939 when one of the most well-known Halls of Fame officially opened , the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown , New York . It came together through the efforts and funding of Stephen Carlton Clark , heir to part of the Singer Sewing Machine fortune . This Hall of Fame , still run by a Clark family member , recently shared the museum ’ s contents on the internet to help reach those who could not make it to Cooperstown . History needed to be brought to the public through the internet .
It ’ s interesting to note that since 1939 , a good number of major league baseball teams have established their own Halls of Fame . Approximately 20 teams are currently listed on the internet in this category . This occurs in other sports as well , such as bowling , which has the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame in Arlington , Texas , plus five bowling associations that have their own Halls of Fame ( the BPAA , USBC , PBA , PWBA , and IBMA ). The Huntsman World Senior Games has its own Hall of Fame . In essence , sports organizations frequently have their own Halls of Fame even though other similar ones exist .
Fast-forward again to 2020 . The USA Pickleball Board decided to help establish an affiliated yet separate nonprofit corporation , the USA Pickleball Hall of Fame . The USA Pickleball Hall of Fame ’ s purpose is twofold . The first is to recognize and honor both athletes and contributors who have excelled in competition or in the advancement of the sport through development and leadership . The second purpose , but no less important , is to bring into being a pickleball museum / foundation via the internet that will be accessible to all .
USA Pickleball was a founding partner in the first Pickleball Hall of Fame in 2017 and gave financial and advisory support to that organization ’ s initial efforts . USA Pickleball ’ s decision to help form another Hall of Fame
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