Blevins (Halls of Fame: An International Directory) provides short biographies of those inducted into baseball’s, basketball’s, football’s, hockey’s, and soccer’s halls of fame from the mid-1930s to 2010. The entries are prefaced by a list of abbreviations of various leagues, professional associations, and federations, and alphabetized by last name or, in some cases, by team. Each entry covers basic facts, including birth and death dates, teams that the athlete played for, accolades, and sometimes career statistics. The listings also indicate the national and any additional halls of fame into which the athlete was inducted and provide a short bibliography. Appendixes in the second volume include complete inductee listings from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Hockey Hall of Fame, and the National Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum, organized both alphabetically and by year. The set is comprehensively indexed. VERDICT Overall, this encyclopedia will be useful in libraries that serve patrons with a special interest in sports or that are located in a city with a sports team. It will also come in handy when students or others are looking to profile an athlete but lack a clear vision or starting point for their research. While not a comprehensive study of each athlete or team, the encyclopedia is a great statistical and factual reference offering basic information that can kick-start further study.
— Library Journal
This two-volume set contains more than 1,400 biographic entries on the male and female inductees (as of 2010) into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Museum, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Hockey Hall of Fame, and National Soccer Hall of Fame.
The short biographies mostly provide details of the inductees’ accomplishments, with a brief summation of their post-sports careers. Relevant statistics are provided for most entries. Appendixes to the work provide a complete inductee listing by year as well as a history of each Hall of Fame and its selection processes. The entries are strictly fact and statistics based, without any analysis of how the athlete impacted his or her sport....Entries on lesser-known figures, such as women’s basketball pioneer Bertha Frank Teague, provide a glimpse into an important piece of sports and gender history.
As it is, it is a handy—if costly—resource for the ultimate sports fan to have on hand, something that could be quickly referred to if you needed to look up where Scottie Pippen went to college (University of Central Arkansas) or Rickey Henderson’s on-base percentage in 1990 (.439).
— Booklist
This two-volume reference work features biographical entries and career statistics for some 1,400 enshrinees in what editor Blevins refers to as the "five most popular halls of fame": the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Hockey Hall of Fame, and the National Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. Entries for all members are included in one integrated alphabetical sequence, rather than in separate chapters for each hall of fame, as one might expect. The entries consist of brief biographical narratives focusing on the sports careers of individuals and omitting most information that is not directly part of the sports career. Joe Namath's entry, for example, barely mentions his celebrity status beyond the playing field. Seasonal and career statistics are included for most, although the depth of statistical information varies by sport, with hockey including junior and minor league statistics but other sports including only major league statistics. Appendixes group the inductees by hall of fame and year, providing a quick reference for those looking for hall of fame members for only one sport. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through professionals/practitioners; general readers.
— Choice Reviews
The Sports Hall of Fame Encyclopedia is a complete list of all athletes and behind-the-scenes-personnel that have been inducted into one of the major sports hall of fames: The Baseball Hall of Fame, The Basketball Hall of Fame, The Soccer Hall of Fame, the Football Hall of Fame, and the Hockey Hall of Fame. In all, it is a biographical listing of nearly 1,500 of the greatest athletes to play U.S. sports. The book is arranged in alphabetic order by last name and each biography includes information on their contribution to their sport, position(s) played, career statistics, and biographical information....This work is unique in that it ties the players in with their Hall of Fame contemporaries and includes information on how they were selected for the honor and the Hall of Fame selection process in general. Appendixes include lists of each sport's Hall of Fame with an inductee list by year and in alphabetic order.
— American Reference Books Annual
If induction into a sports hall of fame is the pinnacle of athletic success, than the athletes and teams included in The Sports Hall of Fame Encyclopedia are the cre`me de la cre`me. Representing the best of North American men and women that baseball, basketball, football, soccer, or hockey have to offer, The Sports Hall of Fame Encyclopedia, is a useful reference work that provides sports related biographical information on every individual and team inducted into the five major sports halls of fame.
— Reference Reviews