What is The ELEVEN
The ELEVEN is a $2.2 million multi-year project of ArtsinStark and The Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The goal of THE ELEVEN is:
1) To turn downtown into an ongoing celebration of football,
2) To create a walkable series of 11 pieces of world-class art,
3) To establish a new tourism attraction called The ELEVEN. The total cost for all 11 moments is $2.2 million (cash and in-kind).
Here are the eleven greatest moments in professional football in chronological order, as selected by The Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Greatest Moments
Birth of the NFL (1920)
FIRST MOMENT – the Birth of the NFL, 1920 sculpture by artist Michael Clapper was installed on August 1, 2014. It celebrates the NFL being created in Canton, OH on September 17, 1920. “Birth” is placed very close to where the NFL agreement was actually signed inside the Hupmobile showroom of Canton Bulldogs owner Ralph Hay. Today the Frank T. Bow Building at 201 Cleveland Ave SW stands on that spot. More than 80 artists from 30 states responded to a national invitation to create “The Birth.” The pre-rusted steel pedestal celebrates the steel industry of Northeast Ohio and includes the ten charter members laser cut into it. The stainless steel top, or “seed pod,” is giving birth to the NFL, whose letters which have been placed sideways, are made of 30-some pieces of dichroic glass which was developed by NASA for satellite mirrors in outer space.
Sponsors: Deuble Foundation, Sally Morse Dale, and Stark Community Foundation. In-Kind Supporters: City of Canton, County of Stark, Fred Olivieri Construction, and Hilscher-Clarke Electric.
The NFL Draft (1936)
SECOND MOMENT – the NFL Draft, 1936 sculpture by artist Gail Folwell was installed on August 7, 2015. It celebrates NFL Commissioner Bert Bell’s idea of teams selecting college players by inverse order, based on how they finished the prior season, which changed the future of clubs overnight. The 5-bronze-figure creation by artist Gail Folwell features a man in a suit hiking the ball among four gladiatorial- looking football players. The man in the suit is Bert Bell, owner/founder of the Philadelphia Eagles and later NFL Commissioner. But Folwell says this could be any owner of any team, surrounded by his players.
Sponsors: Deuble Foundation, Hoover Foundation, Stark Community Foundation, Timken Foundation. In-Kind Supporters: Beaver Excavating, City of Canton, Hilscher-Clark Electric, Reliable Ready Mix, Whitacre Engineering.
AFL/NFL Merger (1966)
THIRD MOMENT – the AFL/NFL Merger, 1966 sculpture by artist David Griggs was installed on June 23, 2016. His art is abstract. It meant to capture the essence of an idea. Here in steel and granite is that moment in the 1960s when the AFL and NFL — after battling endlessly — decide to merge. The sculpture is about becoming greater than the sum of the parts. In the 1960s, the two leagues battled endlessly, and this sculpture straddles the sidewalk as the two sides reach out to become one. One side represents the more traditional NFL, and the other the upstart AFL. The artist wants the viewer to think about this for himself and won’t tell which side is which. Finally there may be a “defense” shape or a football helmet design in “The Merger,” and the sails, as the artist calls them, on top, light up at night and change colors every ten seconds.
Sponsors: Deuble Foundation, Hoover Foundation, Stark Community Foundation, Timken Foundation. In-Kind Supporters: Hilscher-Clarke Electric, Rice’s Landscapes Redefined, The Vasco Group.
Reintegration of Pro Football (1946)
FOURTH MOMENT – the Reintegration of ProFootball, 1946 mural by artist Paul Collins was installed on August 5, 2016. Although there were a handful of African American players in the early days, from 1934 to 1946 pro football had none. That all changed in 1946 ( a full year before Jackie Robinson began playing professional baseball) when the Los Angeles Rams signed Woody Strode and Kenny Washington, and the Cleveland Browns signed Marion Motley and Bill Willis. These four heroic players are celebrated in the documentary “The Forgotten Four.” Artist Paul Collins created the original painting upon which this 30 foot by 90 foot banner mural is based. He purposely made one of the hands on the football white and the other black to emphasize the importance of unity as America moves forward into the 21 century.
Sponsors: Deuble Foundation, Hoover Foundation, Stark Community Foundation, Timken Foundation. In-Kind Supporters: Hilscher-Clarke Electric, Kebco Precision Fabricators.
Super Bowl III (1968)
FIFTH MOMENT – Super Bowl III, 1968 mural by artist Dirk Rozich was installed on August 4, 2017.
This was the year that Joe Namath, star quarterback of the AFL’s New York Jets, predicted victory over the NFL’s heavily favored Baltimore Colts, and, in one of the greatest upsets in sports history — did exactly that with a final score of 16 – 7.
Sponsors: Deuble Foundation, Hoover Foundation, Stark Community Foundation, Timken Foundation. In-Kind Supporters: Coon Restoration and Hilscher-Clark Electric.
Monday Night Football (1970)
SIXTH MOMENT – Monday Night Football, 1970 banner mural by artist Jeff Keirn was installed on August 3, 2018.
This moment celebrates the phenomenal success of NFL games telecast during prime time on weeknights which began on September 21, 1970, with the Cleveland Browns facing the New York Jets in the debut of ABC-TV’s Monday Night Football.
Sponsors: Deuble Foundation, Hoover Foundation, Stark Community Foundation, Timken Foundation. In-Kind Supporters: Coon Restoration and Hilscher-Clark Electric.
Red Grange Turns Pro (1925)
SEVENTH MOMENT – Red Grange turns Pro, 1925 banner mural by artist Heather Bullach August 2, 2019.
Playing in the shadow of pro baseball and college football, the NFL received a huge boost in 1925 when Chicago signed Harold “Red” Grange, the nation’s most heralded college star, to a pro contract. Ten days later 70,000 spectators packed the Polo Grounds in New York City to watch Grange’s Bears take on the hometown Giants. Grange had become pro football’s first big gate attraction.
Sponsors: The George H. Deuble Foundation, The Hoover Foundation, Stark Community Foundation, and Timken Foundation of Canton. Our In-kind Supporter is Hilscher-Clarke Electric
Formation of American Football League (1959)
EIGHTH MOMENT – Formation of the American Football League, 1959 Concrete sculpture by Katherine Stanek, September 18, 2020
It celebrates the historic formation of the American Football League in 1959, which ran for ten seasons expanding into new markets and bringing tremendous innovation to the game — especially through the use of television. The artist created eight huge heads, each five feet tall, sitting on top of 70 concrete television sets stacked in a circle. The heads honor the eight men, led by Lamar Hunt, who had the courage to try and compete against the NFL.
Sponsors: The Deuble Foundation, The Hoover Foundation, Stark Community Foundation, and The Timken Foundation of Canton. In-kind Supporters are: Barnhart Crane, Coon Restoration, Hilscher-Clarke Electric, Lindsay Precast, and RG Smith.
The Ice Bowl (1967)
NINTH MOMENT – The Ice Bowl, 1967 Brick sculpture by Brad Spencer, September 18, 2020
The Ice Bowl is15-feet-tall and sits right along Cleveland Avenue near the entrance to the Canton Ballet at the Cultural Center. It dramatically captures the final touchdown of a historic game. In frigid conditions on New Year’s Eve 1967 at Lambeau Field, Bart Starr and the Green Bay Packers beat the Dallas Cowboys 21 – 17. What The Ice Bowl moment specifically celebrates — is the end of the incredible Vince Lombardi era with the Green Bay Packers
SPONSORS: The Deuble Foundation, The Hoover Foundation, Stark Community Foundation, and The Timken Foundation of Canton. In-kind Supporters: Beaver Excavating, Belden Brick, and Hilscher-Clarke Electric
Pete Rozelle Named Commissioner (1960)
TENTH MOMENT – Pete Rozelle Named Commissioner, 1960 painting by Tommy Morgan, August 3, 2021
Pete Rozelle named NFL Commissioner, 1960. Rozelle begins his 29-year career during which he makes pro football America’s most popular sport, gets the first league-wide TV contract, negotiates the NFL/AFL merger, and transforms the Super Bowl into an international extravaganza.
SPONSORS: Coming soon.
1958 Championship Game (Colts/NY Giants)
ELEVENTH MOMENT — 1958 Championship Game (Colts/NY Giants) sculpture by Jack Howard-Potter, August 7, 2021
1958 NFL Championship Game. In what has been called the “Greatest Game Ever Played,” Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts come back to beat the New York Giants in first “sudden death” NFL championship.
SPONSORS: Coming soon.
