About The Hall Of Fame
Sir Bobby Charlton at the National Football Museum Hall Of Fame 2014
The National Football Museum Hall Of Fame aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of the all-time top English footballing talents, as well as non-English players and managers who have become significant figures in the history of the English game.
Michael Owen receives his Hall Of Fame award from Roger Hunt, with Dan Walker, 2014.
Picture: Karin Albinsson
New members are added each year at a special induction ceremony. From 2002 events took place across the country, but since 2013 the annual ceremony takes place at the National Football Museum’s Hall of Fame in Manchester.
To be considered for induction players must be either retired or, in exceptional cases where a playing career is still ongoing, be at least 30 years of age. All inductees must also have played/managed for at least five years in England.
In 2007, two new categories of induction were established alongside the players, managers and female players’ categories. Chiefly, this was in recognition of football’s central role in English culture, extending Hall of Fame honours to those whose main contribution to the English game has been outside the more obvious field of play. The Community Champion category – sponsored by the Football Foundation – honours professional players who have donated their spare time and money to the grassroots level of the sport, while the Football for All Award – sponsored by the Football Association – is presented to pioneers of the various forms of football played by disabled people.
Alan Ball presents Ian Wright with his Hall Of Fame award, 2005.
Since 2009, the Museum now also commemorates whole teams alongside its awarding of individual players and coaches. The criteria for their induction is that they must have played at least a quarter of a century prior. Team awards are often made at special, one-off induction events in conjunction with the club being honoured.
The National Football Museum Hall Of Fame awards are sponsored by the Professional Footballers’ Association.
The full list of inductees to the National Football Museum Hall Of Fame is below. Inaugural inductees are marked with an *, this year’s latest inductees are in bold:
Players
Tony Adams Ivor Allchurch Viv Anderson Ossie Ardiles
Jimmy Armfield Alan Ball Gordon Banks* John Barnes
Cliff Bastin Peter Beardsley David Beckham Colin Bell
Dennis Bergkamp George Best* Danny Blanchflower Steve Bloomer
Liam Brady Billy Bremner Trevor Brooking Charles Buchan
Ian Callaghan Eric Cantona* Raich Carter John Charles*
Jack Charlton Sir Bobby Charlton* Ray Clemence George Cohen
Bob Crompton Kenny Dalglish* Dixie Dean* Peter Doherty*
Duncan Edwards* Rio Ferdinand Sir Tom Finney* Trevor Francis
Hughie Gallacher Paul Gascoigne* Ryan Giggs Norman Hunter
Johnny Giles Eddie Gray Jimmy Greaves* Alan Hansen
Johnny Haynes* Thierry Henry Glenn Hoddle Emlyn Hughes
Mark Hughes Roger Hunt Geoff Hurst Denis Irwin
Alex James Pat Jennings Cliff Jones Roy Keane
Kevin Keegan* Denis Law* Mark Lawrenson Tommy Lawton
Francis Lee Matthew LeTissier Billy Liddell Gary Lineker
Nat Lofthouse* Dave Mackay* Wilf Mannion Sir Stanley Matthews*
Jimmy McIlroy Frank McLintock Billy Meredith Jackie Milburn
Bobby Moore* Stan Mortensen Alan Mullery Gary Neville
Michael Owen Stuart Pearce Martin Peters Alf Ramsey
John Robertson Bryan Robson* Ian Rush Peter Schmeichel
Paul Scholes David Seaman Len Shackleton Alan Shearer
Teddy Sheringham Peter Shilton* Graeme Souness Neville Southall
Clem Stephenson Nobby Stiles Gordon Strachan Mike Summerbee
Frank Swift Bert Trautmann Patrick Vieira Arthur Wharton
Ray Wilson Billy Wright* Ian Wright Gianfranco Zola
Debbie Bampton Rachel Brown-Finnis Pauline Cope Gillian Coultard
Sylvia Gore Sue Lopez Sheila Parker Lily Parr *
Hope Powell Brenda Sempare Marieanne Spacey Rachel Unitt
Karen Walker Joan Whalley Faye White
Managers
Malcolm Allison Sir Matt Busby* Harry Catterick Herbert Chapman
Brian Clough* Stan Cullis Sir Alex Ferguson* Dario Gradi
Ron Greenwood Howard Kendall Bertie Mee Joe Mercer
Bill Nicholson Bob Paisley* Sir Alf Ramsey* Don Revie
Bobby Robson Bill Shankly* Terry Venables Arsene Wenger
Walter Winterbottom
Teams
Aston Villa 1982 England 1966 Liverpool 1978 Manchester City 1968-70,
Manchester United ‘Busby Babes’ Manchester United 1968 Nottingham Forest 1978-80
Preston North End ‘Invincibles’ 1888-89
Football Association Football For All Award
David Clarke Stephen Daley Gary Davies Matt Dimbylow
George Ferguson Steve Johnson Martin Sinclair Ronnie Watson
Football Foundation Community Champion
Peter Beardsley Robbie Earle Graham Taylor Niall Quinn
On occasion, honorary ‘Special Awards’ are presented. The Special Award Hall of Fame category is a discretionary one, decided by the museum. Special Awards recognise individuals or organisations for their efforts, endeavours and contributions in the wider sphere of football. Inductions in this category may take place separately to the annual Hall of Fame ceremony, and are not made in conjunction with the selection panel.
Special Category
Sheffield FC 1857 (2007) Jimmy Hill (2010) Ebeneezer Cobb Morley (2013)
Civil Service FC 1863-2013 (2013) William McGregor (2013) Jack Taylor (2013)
The Footballers’ Battalion (2014) Sun Jihai (2015) Cambridge University Association Football Club (2016) Notts County FC (2016)
THE SELECTION PANEL
The National Football Museum Hall of Fame Selection Panel for the Players and Managers categories is made up of some of the greatest names in the game. The inaugural panel brought together in 2002 comprised:
Jimmy Armfield
Sir Trevor Brooking (Museum Vice-President)
Jimmy Hill
Mark Lawrenson (Museum ambassador)
Gordon Taylor
Sir Tom Finney and Nat Lofthouse attended the first Hall Of Fame event in 2002, both were inaugural inductees.
In subsequent years Graham Taylor (until 2016) and Steve Hodge joined as expert panelists.
In addition all living inductees into the Hall of Fame automatically join the Selection Panel. The panel grows each year and currently comprises:
Tony Adams, Viv Anderson, Ossie Ardiles, Debbie Bampton, Gordon Banks, John Barnes, Peter Beardsley, David Beckham, Colin Bell, Dennis Bergkamp, Liam Brady, Rachel Brown-Finnis, Ian Callaghan, Eric Cantona, Jack Charlton, Sir Bobby Charlton (Museum President), David Clarke, Ray Clemence, George Cohen, Pauline Cope, Gillian Coultard, Stephen Daley, Kenny Dalglish, Gary Davies, Matt Dimbylow, Robbie Earle, Rio Ferdinand, Sir Alex Ferguson (Museum Vice-President), George Ferguson, Trevor Francis, Paul Gascoigne, Ryan Giggs, Dario Gradi, Eddie Gray, Jimmy Greaves, Alan Hansen, Thierry Henry, Glenn Hoddle, Mark Hughes, Roger Hunt, Norman Hunter, Sir Geoff Hurst, Denis Irwin, Pat Jennings, Steve Johnson, Cliff Jones, Roy Keane, Kevin Keegan, Denis Law, Francis Lee, Matt LeTissier, Gary Lineker, Sue Lopez, Jimmy McIlroy, Frank McLintock, Alan Mullery, Gary Neville, Michael Owen, Sheila Parker, Stuart Pearce, Martin Peters, Hope Powell, Niall Quinn, John Robertson, Bryan Robson, Ian Rush, David Seaman, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, Brenda Sempare, Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham, Peter Shilton, Graeme Souness, Neville Southall, Marieanne Spacey, Nobby Stiles, Gordon Strachan, Mike Summerbee, Rachel Unitt, Terry Venables, Patrick Vieira, Karen Walker, Ronnie Watson, Arsene Wenger, Faye White, Ray Wilson, Ian Wright, Gianfranco Zola
Patrick Vieira, Alan Shearer, Sylvia Gore, Trevor Francis, Roger Hunt, Sir Bobby Charlton, Sir Trevor Brooking, Jimmy McIlroy, Michael Owen and Gordon Taylor were among inductees and award presenters in 2014.
Since 2007, a number of eminent football historians have been asked to join the panel to advise on players and teams from the early years of the game.
Currently, the historian panel also includes:
Dr Neil Carter, Prof Tony Collins, Prof Jeffrey Hill, Dr Peter Holme, Prof Dick Holt, Prof John Hughson, Simon Inglis, Dr Alexander Jackson, Gary James, Prof Graham Kelly, Prof Tony Mason, Dr Kevin Moore, Dr Martin Polley, Prof Dil Porter, Prof Dave Russell, Prof Matthew Taylor, Dr Jean Williams and Prof John Williams.
As we look to the future of the Hall of Fame, with its permanent home at the National Football Museum in Manchester, we’ll also look at ways that fans can have their say in honouring the greats of the game.
The National Football Museum Hall Of Fame is held in association with The PFA.