A stroll down country's many Halls

BASEBALL HALL OF FAME

Location: Cooperstown, N.Y.

First opened: 1936

Number enshrined: 286

Who votes: 10-year members in good standing of the Baseball Writers Association of America. The Veterans Committee is made up of all living members of the Hall of Fame, all living recipients of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for baseball writers and all living recipients of the Ford Frick Award for baseball broadcasters.

Criteria for selection: Candidates for induction (not only players, but managers, executives and umpires) must wait 5 years after they're retired and then receive a minimum of 75 percent of the vote. Under the reconstituted rules of the Veterans Committee, players who failed to gain induction during their 15 years on the BBWAA ballot are voted upon every 2 years, with managers, umpires and executives being voted upon every 4 years. As is the case with players considered by the BBWAA, all candidates who receive 75 percent or more of the vote are elected.

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PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME

Location: Canton, Ohio

First opened: 1963

Number enshrined: 243

Who votes: 36 persons serve on the Hall's board of selectors, including 30 newspaper reporters from NFL cities, one representative from the Pro Football Writers of America, and five at-large voters.

Criteria for selection: Nominees need approximately 80 percent of the vote, which is conducted the Saturday prior to the Super Bowl. Players must wait 5 years after retirement, while coaches qualify the moment they retire.

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME

Location: South Bend, Ind.

First opened: 1951, in Kings Island, Ohio; moved to its current location in 1995.

Number enshrined: 1,007

Who votes: Members of regional screening committees.

Criteria for selection: Those players and coaches recommended by the regional screening committees are pared down to a list of approximately 75 finalists, who remain in consideration for a 5- to 10-year period. And, yes, there is an Honors Court that weighs personal conduct as part of the equation. A players must have played his last intercollegiate game at least 10 years previously and retired from professional football. A coach becomes eligible 3 years after retirement, provided he was a head coach for at least 10 years, coached at least 100 games and won at least 60 percent of his games.

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NAISMITH BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME

Location: Springfield, Mass.

First opened: 1959

Number enshrined: 279

Who votes: 24 members of an honors committee.

Criteria for selection: Finalists who make it through an initial screening process must receive 18 votes, or 75 percent, to gain induction. To become eligible, a player and coach must be fully retired for 5 years.

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HOCKEY HALL OF FAME

Location: Toronto

First opened: 1961 (inaugural class elected in 1945)

Number enshrined: 348

Who votes: An 18-member selection committee comprised of former players and general managers, and media representatives who cover the sport.

Criteria for selection: Players and referees must be retired for at least three seasons. Builders (coaches, team executives) can be active or inactive and are eligible immediately. Candidates must receive 75 percent of the vote, and a maximum of five (it can be fewer) are inducted in any given year.

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INTERNATIONAL BOXING HALL OF FAME

Location: Canastota, N.Y.

First opened: 1990

Number enshrined: 343

Who votes: Full members of the Boxing Writers Association of America and selected international boxing historians.

Criteria for selection: There are five categories: "Modern" fighters (whose careers did not end before 1943), old-timers, pioneers, nonparticipants (trainers, promoters, etc.) and observers (media). The BWAA and historians select the moderns, with the top three or four vote-getters in any given year gaining induction.

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INTERNATIONAL TENNIS HALL OF FAME

Location: Newport, R.I.

First opened: 1955

Number enshrined: 207

Who votes: A panel of international tennis media.

Criteria for selection: Players must have been active within the last 20 years for consideration and have had a distinguished record of competitive achievement at the highest international level, with "consideration given to integrity, sportsmanship and character."

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WORLD GOLF HALL OF FAME

Location: St. Augustine, Fla.

First opened: 1998 (following similar ventures in Augusta, Ga., Sugar Land, Texas, and Pinehurst, N.C.)

Number enshrined: 120

Who votes: Approximately 300 golf journalists and golf historians from around the world.

Criteria for selection: The LPGA Tour has a unique point system; players go in if they amass 27 points (one point for regular tournament victories, two for majors, one for winning the Vare Trophy, one for being named Player of the Year) and if they have been on the LPGA Tour for a minimum of 10 years. There also are two elected avenues: a PGA Tour ballot and an international division for players around the world who are not regular members of the PGA Tour. Two other "discretionary" categories are for veterans (players whose careers ended more than 30 years ago) and lifetime achievement (for administrators and other contributors).

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INTERNATIONAL MOTORSPORTS HALL OF FAME

Location: Talladega, Ala.

First opened: 1990 (other Halls exist in Indianapolis, Darlington, S.C.; Novi, Mich.; and Knoxville, Iowa)

Number enshrined: 122

Who votes: 148 motorsports media from around the world.

Criteria for selection: Drivers and mechanics must be retired for at least 5 years, and are considered for induction for 15 years after they become eligible. Inductees must receive at least 51 percent of the total vote.

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NATIONAL TRACK AND FIELD HALL OF FAME

Location: New York City (third host city)

First opened: 1974

Number enshrined: 210

Who votes: Select members of the media, all living Hall of Famers and members of the Hall of Fame committee.

Criteria for selection: Categorical committees forward nominees (modern athletes, veteran athletes, contributors, coaches) to eligible voters, who select the names that appear on the final ballot for the main election. Modern athletes must be retired at least 5 years and veterans 25 years to be considered, and any athlete who tests positive for performance-enhancing drugs is ineligible for consideration.

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INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING HALL OF FAME

Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

First opened: 1965

Number enshrined: 637

Who votes: A panel of approximately 180 members, including former swimmers, coaches, water polo players, divers, contributors and media members.

Criteria for selection: Swimmers and divers must be retired at least 4 years, or one Olympic quadrennial. Coaches must have had a significant international record and have coached at least 25 years. Greatest weight is given to Olympic gold medals and world records set.

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NATIONAL MUSEUM OF RACING AND HALL OF FAME

Location: Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

First opened: 1950 (museum), 1955 (Hall of Fame)

Number enshrined: 90 jockeys, 85 trainers, 179 horses

Who votes: A panel of approximately 185 voters, primarily turf journalists and people involved in the racing industry.

Criteria for selection: There is a contemporary division for jockeys, trainers and horses that have been active within the last 25 years, and a historic review committee that incorporates everyone else. The recommendations of a 16-member nominating committee is augmented by public submissions, with two to four finalists in the four categories forwarded to the voting panel. The leading vote-getter in each category goes in.

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NATIONAL SOCCER HALL OF FAME

Location: Oneonta, N.Y.

First opened: 1979

Number enshrined: 129

Who votes: There are four pools of voters, a total of approximately 200, that consider players: media members, past and president national team coaches, all Hall of Famers, and administrators of USA Soccer and Major League Soccer.

Criteria for selection: Players must be retired for at least 3 years, but for no more than 10 years; played at least 20 international games for the U.S., and played at least five seasons in an American first-division professional league (currently Major League Soccer). Players retired more than 10 years are considered by the veterans' committee.