ArtsinStark
The County Arts Council
900 Cleveland Ave. NW
P.O. Box 21190
Canton, OH 44701-1190
(330) 453-1075
(330 453-1105 Fax
www.ArtsInStark.com
Question & Answer Continuity Sheet
a) What is The ELEVEN? A $2.2 million public art project of ArtsinStark and The Pro Football Hall of
Fame in Canton celebrating the greatest moments in professional football history. The eleven
monumental pieces of public art (sculptures, murals, multi-media arts) will be within walking distance
of one another in downtown Canton as a new tourism attraction called The ELEVEN. The first three
moments will be sculpture. Then will come murals and multi-media art. The goal: to have all eleven
completed by 2020 for the 100th anniversary of the NFL.
b) Why was the “Birth of the NFL” chosen to be first? Because on Sept 17, 1920 the NFL was created in
Canton, OH at a meeting in the showroom of Ralph Hay’s automobile dealership. Football legends Jim
Thorpe, Ralph Hay, and George Halas were among those present. The original car dealership was
located where the Frank T. Bow Building sits today, so we commissioned a piece of sculpture to be
placed on the sidewalk beside the building.
c) How were artists invited? In August 2012 an open invitation went out to any professional artist living
in the United States to send us their credentials. More than 80 artists from 30 states responded. Four
artists were chosen as finalists. The finalists presented their designs to a Selection Committee, and
artist Michael Clapper won the first $150,000 commission. On August 1, 2014, after remarks by NFL
Commissioner Roger Goodell, to the sounds of a 150-piece marching band from Texas Southern
University, Michael Clapper unveiled his 25-foot steel and glass sculpture “Birth of the NFL.”
d) Who is creating the second moment? Gail Folwell (Boulder, CO) has been selected to create “The NFL
Draft” sculpture. She has completed sculptures for the Denver Art Museum, The National Hockey
League, Vail Resorts, Bowling Green State University, the City of Frisco, Texas, and many private
collectors. She’s been recognized by Southwest Art as one of 25 Leading American Sculptors, and the
United States Sports Academy named her the 2014 Sport Artist of the Year (sculpture).
e) What is artist Gail Folwell trying to capture with her design of five bronze figures hunched over at the
line of scrimmage, one of them being a businessman in suit and hat? “What has continued to inspire
me the most in reviewing all of the ELEVEN moments is one recurring theme, the businessmen and the
athletes working together, cooperating and collaborating for the love of the game of football. In this
sculpture, the ‘suit’ is surrounded by his team. The visitor’s imagination provoked, he can be the team
manager, head coach, owner or if you read your history, Burt Bell.” (In 1936, NFL Commissioner Bert
Bell’s idea of teams selecting college players by inverse order, based on how they finished the prior
season, changes the future of clubs overnight.)
f) Who is sponsoring “The NFL Draft?”? Our sponsors are: 1) the George H. Deuble Foundation, 2) The
Hoover Foundation, 3) Stark Community Foundation, and 4) The Timken Foundation of Canton. Our
In-Kind Supporters are: 1) Beaver Excavating, 2) City of Canton, 3) Hilscher-Clarke Electric, 4) Reliable
Ready Mix, and 5) Whitacre Engineering.
g) What is the total cost of The ELEVEN? $2.2 million. Each moment costs $200,000: $50,000 goes for
site preparation, and $150,000 for artist fees and fabrication.
h) What are the criteria for a winning design? a) Does it truly capture the moment? b) Is the art of the
highest possibility quality? c) Is the concept so amazing that even if you didn’t love football you’d still
want to come see it?
i) Does The ELEVEN favor any style of art? No. All styles of artwork are being considered. The goal is to
have every kind of art currently being made in America represented in the eleven works of art.
Eleven greatest moments in professional football history selected by Pro Football Hall of Fame:
1) Birth of the NFL (1920). On September 17, representatives of the league’s ten charter teams,
including Jim Thorpe and George Halas, meet in the showroom of Canton Bulldogs owner Ralph Hay’s
Hupmobile dealership, and create the NFL.
2) Red Grange turns Pro (1925) The Chicago Bears sign college superstar halfback Harold “Red”
Grange to become pro football’s first big gate attraction.
3) The NFL Draft (1936). NFL Commissioner Bert Bell’s idea of teams selecting college players by
inverse order, based on how they finished the prior season, changes the future of clubs overnight.
4) Reintegration of Pro Football (1946). The Los Angeles Rams sign Woody Strode and Kenny
Washington, the Cleveland Browns sign Marion Motely and Bill Willis, and the doors of professional
football open for African Americans.
5) 1958 NFL Championship Game. In what has been called in the “Greatest Game Ever Played,”
Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts come back to beat the New York Giants in first “sudden death”
NFL championship
6) Formation of the American Football League (1959). The AFL is formed and for ten seasons
expands into new markets, creates opportunities, and brings tremendous innovation to the game.
7) Pete Rozelle named NFL Commissioner (1960). Rozelle begins his 29-year career during which
he makes pro football America’s most popular sport, gets the first league-wide TV contract, negotiates
the NFL/AFL merger --- and transforms the Super Bowl into international extravaganza.
8) AFL/NFL Merger (1966). The costly battle between two rival leagues for players and markets ends
with the June 8, 1966 announcement of the AFL-NFL merger.
9) The Ice Bowl (1967). In frigid conditions at Lambeau Field on New Year’s Eve, Bart Starr and the
Green Bay Packers beat the Dallas Cowboys 21 – 17, cementing the legacy of coach Vince Lombardi and
the 1960 Green Bay Packers.
10) Super Bowl III (1968). Joe Namath, star quarterback of the AFL’s New York Jets, predicts victory
over the NFL’s heavily favored Baltimore Colts --- and in one of the greatest upsets in sports history --does it 16 - 7.
11) Monday Night Football (1970). The phenomenal success of NFL games telecast during prime time
on a weeknight begins on September 21, 1970, when the Cleveland Browns face the New York Jets in
ABC-TV’s Monday Night Football debut.
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