Civic Representations of Sport History: the New Zealand Sport Hall of Fame

Sports halls of fame and sports museums have an important role in presenting sport history to a public audience. Utilizing the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in Dunedin, I argue that these places construct and represent sport history in particular ways that tend to enhance positive aspects of the sports ethic and a respectful reverence toward sporting figures. I discuss the affective values of historical artefacts, the distinction between sports halls of fame and sport museums, the religious quality of these aesthetic sites, and the importance of nostalgia in creating memorable visitor experiences. I consider how our understanding and critique of these civic spaces can be informed by debates over form and content in historical presentation. A brief review of the Sports Hall of Fame is followed by an alternative proposal that reconceives the role of academic sports historians within the domain of public sports history.