The Pro Football Hall of Fame is in Canton, Ohio because:
The NFL was founded in Canton in 1920.
The Canton Bulldogs were an early pro football power, even before the days of the NFL.
Jim Thorpe, the first big-name athlete to play pro football, played his first pro football with the Bulldogs, starting in 1915.
Canton held a fundraising effort that garnered nearly $400,000 (equivalent to $2,784,000 in 2021) to get the Hall of Fame built.
Groundbreaking for the building was held on August 11, 1962, and the Hall opened its doors for the first time on September 7, 1963.
The Hall of Fame has been expanded four times since then.
Today, the Hall of Fame is a popular tourist destination, attracting over 500,000 visitors each year.