This small (and inexpensive) museum celebrates Missouri's role in the evolution of a variety of sports- college level and professional, players, coaches and supporters. There is a sincere attempt to balance coverage for all areas of the state; however, there is a heavier accent on Southern Missouri. Great busts and plaques of those who are in the Mo. Sports Hall of Fame and the selectees are truly noteworthy in their sport and deserving of the recognition. Football, Basketball, Baseball, NSCAR. Tennis, Women's Basketball, ParaOlympics, and even sports journalism (The Sporting News and media journalists) are included. there are some interactive displays (basketball and baseball) and colorful, well designed displays to interest and educate. Did you know the forward pass was first thrown in Missouri? Learn more about it at this museum! Plan on 1-1.5 hrs.-- no restaurant --clean bathrooms & small gift shop.
Were really enjoyed out visit through the Hall....soooooo many exhibits....loved all the baseball ones especially Stan the Man!!! Missouri has a rich history of sport legends!
Went there with my husband. Not a large place and thought admission was a bit high for what is there. Not what either of thought it would be.
Hidden away in the southeast side of Springfield, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame presents a good picture of the sports history of Missouri. The Hall of Fame is not an interactive attraction. To full appreciate the displays, one must be familiar with professional sports and especially past and present athletes from Missouri or associated with Missouri teams.
The museum was nice, but none of the athletic competition exhibits worked. The exhibits provided lots of information about the state's professional teams, but overlooked the college squads. I finished my visit in 30 minutes. Unless you're a major fan of sports in Missouri, or into sports halls of fame this is a place you can skip.
lots of hands on stuff to keep you busy and have a great time
Enjoyed the museum. There were lots of memorable pictures, statues, and memorabilia of players from different sports. Liked participating in the football throwing, basketball shooting, and the Nascar video game experience. It was great for the $4 - $5 admission per person spent and all the information about all the team sports from the state of Missouri.
We were the only visitors at the museum the whole time we were there! That was fun because they have several sports-related games to play. My husband and I are in our early twenties and we both played college sports. The museum was not really to interesting to us as sports fans. But we made a competition out of the small games they had available.
This was my 3rd trip to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and my wife's first. Surprisingly, we practically had the place to ourselves on a Saturday afternoon. That just gave us more time to take in the many displays on Missouri sports. You will find exhibits on many different sports, with baseball, football, and basketball having the greatest emphasis, but there's also smaller displays on sports such as NASCAR, tennis, horse racing, and branches of sports such as broadcasting, coaching, officiating, and sports medicine. And since we were able to take in a lot of information found there, we were very surprised to see people with ties to our high schools' (from which we graduated 10+ years prior) sports teams in the hall. The Hall of Fame was definitely the highlight of our trip to Springfield, and if you're a fan of any of Missouri's 5 pro sports teams or its college teams, it just may be the highlight of yours too.
I had great expectations for the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. My 15-year-old son was disappointed that the four interactive exhibits (football, baseball, basketball, and NASCAR) were only partially working or not working at all. For example, on the basketball game where two people shoot balls next to each other, the scoreboard wasn't functioning. The other big disappointment was that there weren't any sports highlights to watch on a big screen. I expected to see clips of the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, Kansas City Chiefs, Mizzou Tigers, but nothing. If you like plaques, there are hundreds of them to read. There is a pretty cool life-size replica of Whitey Herzog giving five different pep talks. The hall of fame opened in 1994, but portions of it have not been updated since. For example, there is a display of college football uniforms from throughout the state, but Northeast Missouri State University (which has been Truman State since 1995) is still included. The museum needs a major overhaul. The gift shop has only a few items, many of them quite dated as well.