Saturday, 261 players competed in the inaugural U.S. National Team Middle School Bowl Series at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. Right next door is the cathedral for football in the U.S., a shrine to the legends of the past, a connection to the greats of today and a source of inspiration to the future of the game. 

There’s a lot going on these days at 2121 George Halas Drive, and a big part of what’s happening at the Pro Football Hall of Fame is directly related to the athletes who took played on the stadium field Saturday.  

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There are currently six youth football fields on the grounds, and that number will eventually grow to 11. While the the Hall of Fame honors the past, it’s also very much about the future, and that’s why it’s appropriate that these games are being played at what is considered to be “The Most Inspiring Place on Earth.”  

“Yes, our museum is about the past; we certainly are involved with the game presently, but we’re really all about the future,” Pro Football Hall of Fame President David Baker said. 

“Our mission is to honor the heroes of the game, to preserve its history, but the third component of our mission is to promote the values of the game.  That is the commitment, the integrity, the courage, respect and excellence.”

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After Thursday morning’s practice, I took Bradley with me to the Hall of Fame to spend some time with Baker. I got to know Baker when he was the Commissioner of the Arena Football League and I was the radio voice of the AFL’s New York Dragons.  

David has known Bradley since he was a baby, and it seemed appropriate that the infant he once held in his arms at the Nassau Coliseum and that little kid he saw running around the field after Dragons games years ago played in a game at the stadium that can be seen from his office.  

Just like the feeling that Baker has when he thinks about his son Sam’s time in the NFL, he saw some of that in Bradley who like Sam plays on the offensive line. David presented Bradley with a Hall of Fame pin and gave him some wonderful and inspiring words about the sport and what it was going to mean for him to represent his country on the gridiron at an NFL stadium.

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In Baker’s mind, the Hall of Fame pays tribute to the greats of the game and then passes the torch to the athletes that will be the sport’s future.  

“This isn’t really about the past,” said Baker, who was given his son’s draft card right after he was named Hall of Fame president. “It’s about taking those values and passing them onto people like Bradley in the future. That draft card probably represents for men and for him, just like you and Bradley, about 10,000 hours of sweat, blood and tears and hard work.”

During my conversation with Baker, Bradley couldn’t help but to constantly glance out the window of the office to look at the stadium where he was going to play. He would continue to listen to David’s answers to my questions, especially one in particularly that caught Bradley’s attention.

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In fact, every youth football player should draw inspiration from this quote.

“This game is such a wonderful metaphor for learning how to work together, said Baker. “How to huddle up together and how to respect each other and how to communicate with each other and that there’s adversity on the other side of that line and when we break this huddle, we leave with one heartbeat that we’re going to play for each other.”

Bradley, as well as the rest of the players who competed in the Middle School Bowl Series, proudly wore “USA” helmets and jerseys Saturday.   But the sleeves on those jerseys also included some other very important words like integrity, discipline, respect, honor and loyal. These are all values that were instilled by the coaches this week and they go hand-in-hand with the same values that the Hall of Fame promotes.

Peter Schwartz, Hall of Fame president David Baker and Bradley Schwartz (Photo via Peter Schwartz)

It was quite a week for the coaches, players and parents, and it culminated with three games next door to the “Church of Football.” Many of those people associated with this event visited the Pro Football Hall of Fame during the course of the week or after the games, and that was a great way to connect the dots.

The game is passed on from generation to generation, and for USA Football to have this event in the shadows of the Pro Football Hall of Fame was perfect. Especially when you consider the connection that David Baker has had to youth football.  

Peter Schwartz is a sports anchor for the CBS Sports Radio Network, FOX News Headlines 24/7 and WCBS 880 Radio in New York. His son, Bradley, played in the Canton Classic on Saturday. This blog is part of a series Schwartz wrote surrounding the Middle School Bowl Games.