National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame

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The National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit institution honoring exceptional U.S. athletes of Italian descent. In 1977 George Randazzo created the Italian American Boxing Hall of Fame. This was as a means for raising money for local Catholic youth programs. After a successful year and dinner honoring 23 former Italian American boxing champions, Randazzo created the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame. The original location was in Elmwood Park, Illinois. The first induction ceremony honored Lou Ambers, Eddie Arcaro, Charley Trippi, Gino Marchetti, Dom DiMaggio, Joe DiMaggio, and Vince Lombardi. Since its founding in 1978, more than 230 Italian Americans have been inducted into this hall of fame.

The Hall of Fame and museum was located in a 44,000-square-foot (4,000 m²) building on Taylor Street in the heart of Chicago's "Little Italy" neighborhood from 2000 until 2019.^[2] The Hall of Fame is now based on the city's north side.