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Visit the
Florida Sports Hall of Fame
Preview Center
Lake Myrtle Sports Complex
905 Lake Myrtle Park Drive
Auburndale, Florida 33823
Phone: 863.551.4750
There are also several college football displays, including a tribute to Hall of Famer Bobby Bowden, celebrating the Florida’s rich football history.
“Very few states can boast the type of sports tradition that Florida has, and now with a permanent home to some of the memorabilia that makes up that storied past, sports fans from around the country can see that history first hand,” said Mark Jackson, director of the Central Florida Visitors & Convention Bureau.
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Historical Overview of the
Florida Sports Hall of Fame
In keeping with a newly adopted slogan of “Fame for Fitness,” the Florida Sports Hall of Fame houses a museum preview center for memorabilia provided by the inductees, In addition to housing this memorabilia, the museum preview center hosts activities that promote fitness awareness and education.
The Florida Sports Hall of Fame has inducted 205 members and the outstanding memorabilia from these individuals is displayed at the museum preview center at the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale, Florida.
Historically, the Florida Sports Hall of Fame hosts an annual enshrinement for the purpose of inducting new members into the Hall of Fame which is usually held in the Spring each year. The Florida Sports Hall of Fame was founded by the Florida Sports Writers Association and the Florida Sportscasters Association in 1961, and moved in 1977 to Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven. It closed in 1985, then moved north to Lake City in 1990. After several successful years, it was decided to move to a Central Florida location that would be more easily accessible by Florida residents.
The exhibits and memorabilia were placed in storage while the FSHOF Board of Directors tried to find a new location in which to build a permanent facility. The Lake Myrtle Sports Complex, which began construction in Auburndale in August, 2008 offered a home site and on June 22, 2010 the museum preview center opened.
Florida Sports Hall of Fame
Board of Directors
Rick Dantzler, President
Larry Wahl, Vice President
Doug Dickey
Dick Crago
Bert Lacey
Dr. Ruth Alexander
Clark D. East
Gary Froid
Robert “Buddy” Hewell
Matt Morrall
Pat Williams
Ron Book
General Maurice “Maury” Edmonds
Charles “Chuck” Rohe
Keith Tribble
Bill Buchalter
Russ Sloan
John E. Kearney
Otis Birdsong
Mark Jackson
Click Here for
Criteria and Rules for Membership
Florida Sports Hall of Fame
Central Florida's
Polk County Sports Marketing
Host of the
Florida Sports Hall of Fame
Preview Center
Lake Myrtle Sports Complex
Neal Duncan
neal@centralfloridasports.com
Mark Jackson
mark@centralfloridasports.com
863-551-4750
www.centralfloridasports.com
Polk County Sports Marketing (PCSM) is an initiative of the Central Florida Development Council of Polk County, which is a branch of the Polk County Board of County Commissioners. Central Florida Sports Marketing’s primary objective is to increase overnight stays in Polk County accommodations and enhance the county’s economic climate. Simply put, we “put heads in beds and make cash registers ring” in Polk County.
The organization began in 1992 under the Central Florida Development Council. Since that time sports in Polk County has been big business. Over the past 12 years, through the efforts of the staff of Central Florida Sports Marketing, more than $700 million has been pumped into the Polk County economy, largely to hotels and restaurants.
It is the mission of Central Florida Sports Marketing to promote tourism and economic development through sports.
Polk County Sports Marketing focuses on developing new events, recruiting sports activities, assisting existing sports events and marketing recreation and leisure activities.
