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CANTON, OHIO – The Pro Football Hall of Fame will host a high school football triple-header Sept. 6 and will launch a 10-week series of character-development messages through its app later this month as major additions to its youth-focused programming.

 

The inaugural Pro Football Hall of Fame High School Classic will feature six high schools that each graduated a member of the most elite club in sports – the 382 individuals who have been enshrined in Canton. By the time those games are played, the Hall of Fame will be well into a 70-day sequence of character messages delivered to players, coaches and their families through its app.

 

These significant investments in young student-athletes build off the Hall of Fame’s emphasis in 2025 to highlight content and experiences related to teaching the positive values associated with the game of football. The effort took off in January with the opening of a special exhibit at the museum titled, simply, “Character.”

 

“Thousands of kids and their families have engaged with the multimedia storytelling of the ‘Character’ exhibit as part of their tours in the Hall to better understand and appreciate how team sports, especially football, grow and enhance lifelong positive traits learned on the field and in the locker room,” said Jim Porter, president & CEO of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “Now the Hall is taking its emphasis on character development forward in a big way with the High School Classic and the video messages sent to families via the Hall app.”

 

Leading off the triple-header of high school games will be Canton GlenOak (Dan Dierdorf, Hall of Fame Class of 1996) against Cleveland East Tech (Bob Brown, Class of 2004) at noon.

 

Game 2 features two rival schools from the Pittsburgh area: Pittsburgh Central Catholic (Dan Marino, Class of 2005) and Woodland Hills (Jason Taylor, Class of 2017) at 3:30 p.m. The finale will showcase Canton McKinley (Marion Motley, Class of 1968) and Cleveland Heights (Tom Mack, Class of 1999) at 7 p.m.

 

Mack, along with Hall of Famer Anthony Muñoz (Class of 1998), will be in attendance. Muñoz was on hand for the ribbon-cutting when the Hall unveiled the “Character” exhibit and has been part of the Hall’s National High School Football Council that has worked to bring the game and the enhanced app to fruition.

 

Game tickets range in price from $6 for students (pre-sale, fees included) up to $21 for Gold Section seats and are good all day. (Fans can watch all three games for one ticket with stadium re-entry allowed.) For more information and to buy tickets in advance at a discount over game- day gate prices, click here.

 

All three games also will be broadcast via FloSports, a live-streaming service that provides access to thousands of live events per year across 20 sports. For more information, go to FloCollege.com.

 

Media wishing to cover any of the three games should send an email with name(s), outlet and whether press box or field access is desired to: [email protected] with “High School Classic media request” in the subject line.

 

App messaging is slated to launch Saturday, Aug. 16, with an introductory video from Muñoz. The program will continue daily along such weeklong themes as “Commitment,” “Handling Adversity” and “Leadership” through the 10-week Ohio high school football regular season.

 

Inspirational messages will come from several members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and other notable leaders.

 

The app is available for download on iOS and Android devices. Search for “Pro Football Hall of Fame” in Apple’s App Store or on Google Play.

 

Both the app and the Pro Football Hall of Fame High School Classic are made possible through the Hall’s relationship with Visit Canton, Stark County’s Convention and Visitors’ Bureau.

 

Museum guests can experience the “Character” exhibit as part of their regular admission to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Doors are open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Labor Day. On Sept. 2, winter hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) will take effect.

 

For more information and to plan a visit, click here.

 

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