The Most Hall of Famers in One NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB Game
- Brian Fishbach
- May 12
- 4 min read
Which NFL game had the most future Hall of Famers? How about Hockey Hall of Famers? Or Baseball Hall of Fame? Or Basketball Hall of Famers?
And we're excluding All-Star Games.
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
1963 NBA Finals, Celtics vs. Lakers: 11 future Hall of Famers in the series
The 1962-63 Celtics alone had nine Hall of Famers on the roster, which NBA.com says is the most for any Celtics title team. (NBA) Add the Lakers’ two no-doubt legends — Elgin Baylor and Jerry West — and that series gets to 11. The Celtics beat the Lakers 4-2 in the 1963 Finals.
The 11
Boston Celtics
Bill Russell
Bob Cousy
John Havlicek
Tom Heinsohn
Sam Jones
K.C. Jones
Frank Ramsey
Clyde Lovellette
Tom “Satch” Sanders
Los Angeles Lakers
10. Elgin Baylor
11. Jerry West
For a single NBA game
In the 1963 NBA Finals, especially Game 3 on April 17, 1963, the box-score snippets show West, Baylor, Russell, Sam Jones, Tom Heinsohn, Tom Sanders, Bob Cousy, K.C. Jones, Frank Ramsey and Clyde Lovellette all appearing. That is 10 confirmed Hall of Famers in one box score snippet.
Modern / LeBron-era comparison
Even counting LeBron as a lock, modern series do not touch that. The 2011 Heat-Celtics series gets crowded: LeBron, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Shaq, maybe Rondo as a debate — but it still falls short of 1963.
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Super Bowl XIII — Steelers vs. Cowboys, Jan. 21, 1979:
17 future Pro Football Hall of Fame players appeared
Pittsburgh beat Dallas 35-31 in Super Bowl XIII. The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s own Super Bowl page lists the Hall of Famers attached to that game, and the player-only count comes out to 17 once you strip out owners, coaches, scouts and front-office people.
The 17 players
Pittsburgh Steelers — 10
Terry Bradshaw
Franco Harris
Lynn Swann
John Stallworth
Mike Webster
Joe Greene
Jack Ham
Jack Lambert
Mel Blount
Donnie Shell
Dallas Cowboys — 7
Roger Staubach
Tony Dorsett
Drew Pearson
Jackie Smith
Rayfield Wright
Randy White
Cliff Harris
Why some counts look higher
You’ll see higher numbers attached to this game because the official Hall page also includes Chuck Noll, Tom Landry, Art Rooney, Dan Rooney, Tex Schramm, Gil Brandt and Bill Nunn — Hall of Famers, yes, but not players in the game. The Hall’s Super Bowl page lists those names under each team.
Runner-up / older-era caveat
Older NFL Championship Games had a lot of Hall of Famers too. For example, the 1940 NFL Championship Game had Hall of Fame players like Sid Luckman, Dan Fortmann, George McAfee, George Musso, Joe Stydahar, Bulldog Turner, Sammy Baugh, Turk Edwards and Wayne Millner, plus Hall of Fame coaches/owners — but the player count is still below 17.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
1932 World Series featuring Yankees vs. Cubs:
13 future Baseball Hall of Fame players appeared
The 1932 World Series had the most Hall of Famers to play in any World Series: 13 eventual inductees— nine Yankees and four Cubs.
The 13
New York Yankees
Babe Ruth
Lou Gehrig
Earle Combs
Bill Dickey
Lefty Gomez
Tony Lazzeri
Herb Pennock
Red Ruffing
Joe Sewell
Chicago Cubs
10. Kiki Cuyler
11. Burleigh Grimes
12. Gabby Hartnett
13. Billy Herman
Three other Hall of Famers were also involved: Yankees manager Joe McCarthy, Cubs manager Rogers Hornsby and umpire Bill Klem.
Single-game answer: Yankees vs. Philadelphia Athletics, May 24, 1928
13 Hall of Famers appeared — but only 12 were inducted as players
The National Baseball Hall of Fame says the May 24, 1928 Yankees-A’s game featured 13 future Hall of Famers, the most for any regular-season game in MLB history.
The wrinkle: Leo Durocher played in the game, but he was inducted into the Hall as a manager, not as a player. So:
Broad count: 13 Hall of Famers appeared.
Strict player-inductee count: 12 Hall of Fame players appeared
The 13 included Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, Eddie Collins, Lefty Grove, Earle Combs, Tony Lazzeri, Waite Hoyt and Leo Durocher. Baseball Hall of Fame’s writeup confirms the A’s side alone had Cobb, Speaker, Cochrane, Foxx, Simmons, Collins and Grove involved in that era’s loaded lineups.
So the most Hall of Fame players in a World Series:1932 Yankees-Cubs — 13
Most Hall of Famers in one MLB regular-season game:
May 24, 1928 Yankees-Athletics — 13, or 12 if you only count players inducted as players.
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
NHL answer: 1956 Stanley Cup Final
Montreal Canadiens vs. Detroit Red Wings
18 future Hockey Hall of Fame players appeared in the series
The 1956 Stanley Cup Final, won by Montreal over Detroit in five games. The Hall-of-Fame player count is enormous: 10 Canadiens + 8 Red Wings = 18.
The Hockey Hall of Fame’s page on the 1955-56 to 1959-60 Canadiens lists Montreal’s Hall of Fame core from that dynasty, including Jean Beliveau, Bernie Geoffrion, Doug Harvey, Tom Johnson, Dickie Moore, Jacques Plante, Henri Richard and Maurice Richard, plus Butch Bouchard and Bert Olmstead tied to the 1956 Cup team. The 1955-56 Red Wings roster shows Detroit playoff appearances for Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio, Ted Lindsay, Red Kelly, Norm Ullman, Marcel Pronovost, Johnny Bucyk and Glenn Hall.
The 18 players
Montreal Canadiens — 10
Jean Beliveau
Emile “Butch” Bouchard
Bernie Geoffrion
Doug Harvey
Tom Johnson
Dickie Moore
Bert Olmstead
Jacques Plante
Henri Richard
Maurice Richard
Detroit Red Wings — 8
Johnny Bucyk
Alex Delvecchio
Glenn Hall
Gordie Howe
Red Kelly
Ted Lindsay
Marcel Pronovost
Norm Ullman
Most Hall of Famers in a Single NHL Game
NHL box-score availability from the 1950s is not as easy to verify as NBA/MLB/NFL box scores. This was a five-game Final in the Original Six era. So the best verified series: 1956 Stanley Cup Final — 18 future Hockey Hall of Fame players.
Best likely single-game candidate: a game from the same 1956 Canadiens-Red Wings Final, depending on who dressed and played.
A famous modern candidate is the 2002 Western Conference Final, Red Wings vs. Avalanche. Detroit alone had a loaded Hall group featuring Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom, Sergei Fedorov, Brendan Shanahan, Chris Chelios, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, Igor Larionov, Dominik Hasek and Pavel Datsyuk. While Colorado had Patrick Roy, Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Rob Blake. That gets to about 14 Hall of Fame players, depending on the exact game roster. It still falls short of 1956’s 18.