A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or museums that enshrine the honorees with sculptures, plaques, and displays of memorabilia and general information regarding the inducted recipients. Sometimes, the honorees' plaques may instead be posted on a wall (hence a "wall of fame") or inscribed on a sidewalk (as in a "walk of fame", "walk of stars", or "avenue of fame"). In other cases, the hall of fame is more figurative and consists of a list of names of noteworthy people and their achievements and contributions. The lists are maintained by an organization or community, and may be national, state, local, or private.

Etymology

The term "hall of fame" first appeared in German with the Ruhmeshalle, built in 1853 in Munich. The Walhalla memorial in Bavaria was conceived in 1807 and built between 1830 and 1842. Inspired by the Ruhmeshalle, the English-language term was popularised in the United States by the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, a sculpture gallery completed in 1900 and officially dedicated in 1901. Located in the Bronx in New York City, it is on the campus of Bronx Community College (until 1973 the University Heights campus of New York University).

The meaning of fame has changed over the years, originally meaning 'renown' for achievement, as opposed to today's more common meaning of 'celebrity'.

Halls of fame

Automotive

• Automotive Hall of Fame
• Model Car Hall of Fame

Aviation and space

Arts

Music

Show business, media, and theater

Writing

At least 13 writers' halls of fame exist in the United States alone, or at least 10 besides four songwriters' ones listed above in "Music" section. These provide recognition of life-time bodies of work by authors, whether living or dead, as opposed to being awards for individual works.

Sports and games

Multiple sports

College sports

Cricket

• Australian Cricket Hall of Fame
• ICC Cricket Hall of Fame
• Pakistan Cricket Hall Of Fame

Association football

Australian rules football

• Australian Football Hall of Fame
• South Australian Football Hall of Fame
• Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame
• West Australian Football Hall of Fame

Baseball and softball

Basketball

Boxing

• Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame
• International Boxing Hall of Fame
• Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame
• Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame
• Ring 8 and New York State Boxing Hall of Fame

Equestrian

Golf

• Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame
• Wisconsin Golf Hall of Fame
• World Golf Hall of Fame

Gridiron football

Horse racing

Ice hockey

Lacrosse

• Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame
• Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame
• National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame (indoor lacrosse; North America)

Martial arts

• Australasian Martial Arts Hall of Fame
• World Tae Kwon Do Federation Hall of Fame
• UFC Hall of Fame

Motorsports

Professional wrestling

Rugby league

Rugby union

• International Rugby Hall of Fame – no longer exists as a separate entity; merged into the World Rugby Hall in 2014
• World Rugby Hall of Fame
• US Rugby Hall of Fame

Tennis

• Australian Tennis Hall of Fame
• International Tennis Hall of Fame

Water polo

• Water Polo Australia Hall of Fame
• USA Water Polo Hall of Fame

Winter sports

Board and card games

• ACBL Hall of Fame (bridge)
• World Chess Hall of Fame
• Poker Hall of Fame

Other sports

Cowboy and rodeo

Miscellaneous

Walls of fame

• Piteå Wall of Fame
• Liverpool Wall of Fame
• Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame
• Missouri Wall of Fame
• Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame
• San Francisco Giants Wall of Fame

Walks of fame

See also

• Hall of Honor

References

External links

• The dictionary definition of hall of fame at Wiktionary
• Media related to Halls of fame at Wikimedia Commons