FIBA

**^{The exterior of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as seen from our room in the Hampton Inn.}**

Since it seemed a waste to fly to the northeast for one night and not try to sneak in two events, my traveling partner, Fran, and I made the hour trek north from Storrs, CT, to Springfield, MA, for the night with plans to tour the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame early the next day before flying back to Detroit in the evening.

But first … football!

Before the 2025 NCAA Football Season, the last time the Indiana Hoosiers played a meaningful college football game after New Year’s Eve was against the USC Trojans at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 1968 (when I was six months old!).

So, yeah, I was gonna figure out a way to watch Indiana University – yes, that Indiana University – play for the stinkin’ National Championship.

After securing our room in the Hampton Inn directly across I-91 from the Hall, we made a beeline for the Rumbleseat Bar & Grill in Chicopee, which promised us sustenance, cooling beverages, and televisions to watch the game.

Check, check, and check!

The pizza was delicious, as was the local cider I selected, and there were plenty of televisions to choose from, though we had to deal with Detroit Pistons-Boston Celtics for screen time.

We lasted at the Rumbleseat until close to halftime when we made our way back to the hotel for the second half.

Even now, eight months later, it’s still hard to believe that the Indiana Hoosiers won the FBS National Championship. What did Verne Lundquist say when Tiger Woods chipped in on the 16th during the final round of the 2005 Masters?

“In your life have you seen anything like that!?!”

No, Verne, no, I have not.

Now, back to Event No. 40 of the Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project: a visit to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

A Mountain of Memorabilia

^{Clockwise from upper top, this mural of basketball legends (and period baskets) greets visitors to the Court of Dreams; Hollywood’s Penny Marshall was one of the first fans honored in the SuperFan Gallery; a look to the top of the sphere; Marshall’s ring; my friend Fran showing off his form from the elbow; the namesake for the James F. Goldstein SuperFan Gallery.}

This may be unfair, but as this is the final of the four major North American sports halls of fame that I’ve visited, I couldn’t help but compare basketball to baseball, football, and hockey.

To be sure, all the halls have a tremendous number of artifacts and memorabilia on display, but it really seemed like basketball had more than the others. You couldn’t swing an elbow (appropriately, of course;-) without spotting something behind glass that was intriguing and warranted your attention. It may be recency bias, but the number of images on my phone tell adifferent story.

That said, this post will lean heavily into images, but before I get to them, two more things I really appreciated about Naismith:

First, there are occasional SuperFan inductees who are honored in the James F. Goldstein SuperFan Gallery. This year’s honoree was Matt Asen who supports the Indiana Pacers as “The Pacer Guy.” They get their own ring and everything which, as someone who curates a website called The Sports Fan Project, is pretty cool.
Second, the Jerry Colangelo Court of Dreams is wonderful. It’s a full basketball court under the giant sphere seen in the exterior photo at the top and allows visitors to shoot, play some 1-on-1, or, if the mood struck and space was available, get a run in with nine of your friends. None of the other halls of fame have anything quite like it.

Some of my Favorite Finds

^{Clockwise from upper left, Julius Erving and Brittney Griner jerseys and shoes; a cap tip to my Indiana roots, this jacket commeorates the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons won three straight World Professional Basketball Tournaments (1944-46); Pete Maravich’s LSU jersey; a piece of wood flooring from the original Springfield YMCA basketball floor (circa 1890s); Diana Taurasi’s UConn jersey; the list of Hall of Fame inductees by year; I get the concept, but this Jerry Lucas jersey seems, um, uncomfortable; jerseys from Bill Walton and Wilt Chamberlain, balls from Walt Bellamy, John Stockton, and Robert Parrish, and Shaquille O’Neal sneakers; a lifesize cutout of Mugsy Bogues; Fran and I joined the “Inside the NBA” team on a fishing charter; Nolan Richardson gear from his days coaching the Arkansas Razorbacks; Kobe Bryant celebrates a championship; and, as far as I know, the only player from my alma mater (Eastern Michigan University) enshrined in the Naismith Hall.}