Overview of the Hall of Fame Induction Process

    Since 1976 the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame (“DSMHOF”) has honored and promoted Delaware’s outstanding athletic performers including those who have brought recognition to the First State through their athletic participation, teaching/coaching, officiating, administrative and journalism contributions, promotion, and ownership. Additionally, the Museum preserves the performances of Delaware inductees and other athletes through the display of memorabilia, artifacts, photos and videos.

    To be eligible for election to the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame, a person must be judged to have brought lasting fame and recognition to Delaware through his/her contributions in athletics or to have been outstanding within the state’s borders. A candidate must have a clear connection to Delaware before or during his/her period of excellence. He/she may be a native Delawarean who has made significant contributions in sport in another geographical area.

    Voting for the Hall of Fame is conducted annually. 

The Nomination / Selection process is as follows:

    Nominations may be made in a couple of ways:  First, to nominate someone, please go to our website (www.desports.org), print out a nomination form and fill it out. If for some reason you have trouble printing the form, please call the DSMHOF at 302-425-3263. 

     You may include any letters of recommendation/support, articles, biographies and/or photos and return it to the DSMHOF or bring it to one of the nomination meetings. You may mail it (DSMHOF, 801 Shipyard Drive, Wilmington, DE 19801-5121) or drop it off during business hours at the Museum. You are also welcome to send it electronically (desports@desports.org) also.  Once the DSMHOF receives the file, it is forwarded on to the selection committee (Board of Governors).  All nominations are kept on file from year to year. We have a very large number of nominees on file.

    Second, nominations for the Hall of Fame are open and can be made by the general public. As the number of candidates has steadily grown annually, a regional event will be held each year to accommodate all of the nominations.  These meetings are generally held in November. To find out the exact date/time, location and details, please call the Museum (302-425-3263). 

    This is the first step in the process to get a nominees name on the ballot for next year's class of inductees.

    Next, the selection committee (The Board of Governors consisting of individuals elected by the DSMHOF membership) meets to review the very large list of nominees and make a ballot. This process takes several weeks of tedious meetings and thoroughly going over each candidate to determine the best candidates to put on a ballot in each category.  The ballot consists of a Contemporary section (a nominee must have been inactive in the sport involved for at least three years) and a Veterans section (a nominee must be at least 70 years of age or have been inactive in the sport involved for a minimum of 40 years).

    The ballot is then sent out to dues-paying members of the DSMHOF who then vote to decide the inductees.  The top vote getters in the Contemporary and Veteran categories are inducted into the Hall of Fame.

    The DSMHOF, with assistance from the Board of Governors, notifies the winning nominees once the voting process has been completed.  The winning nominees must then attend the induction banquet to be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame. Generally, if a nominee is unable to attend the banquet in the year of election, the induction will take place in a subsequent year when the individual is able to attend.