Canton in Stark County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Monday Night Football

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, May 23, 2025

1. Monday Night Football Marker

Inscription.
Monday Night Football, 1970
The phenomenal success of NFL games telecast during prime time on a weeknight began on September 21, 1970, when the Cleveland Browns faced the New York Jets in ABC-TV's Monday Night Football debut.

August 3, 2018
Digital art mural
By artist Jeffrey Keirn

“The artist wanted to convey the era and the impact of its high-production appeal when professional football debuted for a primetime audience. This homage not only celebrates the sport, but also the pioneering technological broadcast innovations which made it magic.”

Sponsors
The George H. Double Foundation • The Hoover Foundation • Stark Community Foundation • Timken Foundation of Canton

In-kind supporters
Hilscher-Clarke Electric • Coon Restoration

The Eleven Greatest Moments in Professional Football History
Birth of the NFL (1920)
Red Grange Turns Pro (1925)
The NFL Draft (1936)
Reintegration of Pro Football (1946)
1958 Championship Game
Formation American Football League (1959)
Pete Rozelle Named Commissioner (1960)
AFL/NFL merger (1966)
The Ice Bowl (1967)
Super Bowl III (1968)
Monday Night Football (1970)

The Eleven

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is a $2.2 million multi-year project of ArtsinStark and The Pro Football Hall of Fame. The eleven public artworks (sculpture, mural, multi-media art) will all be located within walking distance of each other in downtown Canton, Ohio.

Erected 2018.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Communications • Sports. A significant historical date for this entry is September 21, 1970.

Location. 40° 47.887′ N, 81° 22.546′ W. Marker is in Canton, Ohio, in Stark County. It is at the intersection of Court Avenue Southwest and 2nd Street Southwest, on the right when traveling north on Court Avenue Southwest. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 137 Court Ave SW, Canton OH 44702, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Amish Country

and in Greater Cleveland.

It is also in the American Midwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At

Monday Night Football Mural image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, May 23, 2025

2. Monday Night Football Mural

This large-scale mural is located in the parking lot visible on 2nd Street SW between Court Avenue and Market Avenue. The marker is located on the left-hand side of the mural.

least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Ralph Hay Way (within shouting distance of this marker); President McKinley (within shouting distance of this marker); Church Of The Savior (within shouting distance of this marker); Judge Leroy J. Contie, Jr. (within shouting distance of this marker); Stark County Courthouse (within shouting distance of this marker); Mayor Stanley A. Cmich (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The National Football League Was Born Here on September 17, 1920 (about 300 feet away); Birth of the NFL (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Canton.

Also see . . . The Eleven.

This piece captures the success of NFL football on primetime television. The NFL debuted on ABC primetime with the Cleveland Browns vs. New York Jets on September 21, 1970.

(Submitted on June 11, 2025, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York.)

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, May 23, 2025

3. Monday Night Football Mural

This mural includes an image taken from the first Monday Night Football game, which took place on September 21, 1970, as well as a depiction of the three broadcasters from that first game, Keith Jackson, Howard Cosell, and Don Meredith.

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, May 23, 2025

4. Monday Night Football Mural

The mural is meant to portray a TV set. The "antennas" of the set extend up Chase Tower.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 27, 2025. It was originally submitted on June 11, 2025, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York. This page has been viewed 228 times since then and 41 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on June 11, 2025, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.