SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The Basketball Hall of Fame’s “Hoophall Hangout” summer program ended Wednesday with a special guest appearance from well-known hall-of-famer Julius “Dr. J” Erving.
Dr. J attracted quite the crowd at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, he’s one of several big names to make their way over to the ‘Hoophall Hangout’ series this summer. The program includes a Q&A and photo-op with the various hall-of-famers and is included as part of the regular day’s admission.
22News spoke with Hall of Fame President John Doleva about the success of this summer program, “Having someone like Dr. J here is really kind of what we’re supposed to do, right? We have a great museum, we tell the history of the game, and we allow people to celebrate with their favorites and kind of visit with their favorite hall-of-famers and others in basketball. It’s very exciting to have such a great pool of people as hall-of-famers that are willing to travel to Springfield even during off-enshrinement cycles to relate with the fans.”
Dr. J is a local favorite having played for UMass Amherst from 1969 to 1971. He’d later signed with the Virginia Squires of the ABA then play for the Philadelphia 76ers.
The culmination of Hoophall Hangouts was definitely a slam dunk. The Hall of Fame is also celebrating a monumental month of July, which has been the most-attended month in the facility’s history.
