Our Inaugural Pro Lacrosse Hall of Fame Class of 2022

Two years in the making we've wanted to honor the game's greatest professional lacrosse players to have graced that beautiful grassed surface lined with two-point arcs. We've never taken the game's rich history of dynamic playmaking, MVP's and Championships for granted, and as soon as the Major League Lacrosse merger was finalized in 2020, we knew we could coalesce the work behind-the-scenes into a formal strategy for the game's posterity.

Now here is your first class of pro lacrosse Hall of Famers...

This marks a truly special occasion for our sport, and the beginning of the stated mission of the Hall of Fame initiative: "to recognize truly great professional lacrosse players by celebrating the history of the game."

I remember growing up watching Mark Millon score game-winning goals from a right-to-left split, shooting the ball off a hesitation and roll, low-to-high...Gary Gait throwing spot feeds on a dime, behind-the-back, with the game on the line...of course, Nicky Polanco terrorizing opposing offenses with his physicality, and even moreso with his graceful takeaway touch...and finally, while I might be aging myself a bit, getting to play with and against the greatest goalie of all-time (by many standards, even though he's a Terp), Brian "Doc" Dougherty.

The Pro Lacrosse Hall of Fame Voting Committee is robust and has been working hard in the background to get this process right. Nominated players had to receive a 75% majority vote of approval for induction, ensuring excellence in completion. Players must have been retired from professional play for 3 years in total, and so I look forward to seeing more of my contemporaries as well as legends being honored in the years to come.

To each of these men who have inspired me with their competitiveness, style and grace, congratulations again. Each of you knows more than anyone what it takes to win, lead by example, and push the game to new heights.

Yours in the journey,

Paul