Hall of Fame

ByABC News
March 30, 2004, 10:20 AM

March 23 -- Andy Warhol was wrong. In the future, you'll get much more than 15 minutes of fame. You'll get enshrined in 15 different Halls of Fame but will anyone care?

Pete Rose finally earned Hall of Fame honors last week, but not for being baseball's all-time hits leader. Rose was inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame. Ironically, pro wrestling might have been the only sport Rose didn't bet on. Organizers, however, say Rose was honored for his promotional work at Wrestlemania events.

At a Hilton hotel ballroom in New York City, Rose was said to be overwhelmed with emotion and so was Jesse Ventura, who capped the event with a 23-minute speech.

"If by chance in 2008, maybe we ought to put a wrestler in the White House," the former Minnesota governor told 2,000 fans, recounting his unlikely rise from body slamming to politics.

Some sports fans may think it's ironic that Rose is now immortalized in the Wrestling Hall of Fame. But is it really? In truth, baseball is no longer our national pastime. Our new national pastime is fame itself, as illustrated by the more than 500 halls of fame popping up across America, with more on nearly a daily basis, honoring almost anything.

Hall of fame museums honor excellence in marble shooting (in Wildwood, N.J.), dog mushing (in Knit, Alaska), clowning (in Milwaukee), and even stripping (in Las Vegas, of course). Real estate brokers, insurance agents and accountants also have their halls of fame.

With such the glut, you can expect overlap, especially for extraordinary people. President Ronald Reagan was inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1989, the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1994, and Sy Sperling's Hair Hall of Fame in 1997.

You'd expect to find Martin Luther in Canton Ohio's Christian Hall of Fame. He's also a kingpin at the National Bowling Hall of Fame in St. Louis, where you'll find how Luther, an avid bowler, helped revolutionize the sport, even as he was sparking the Protestant Reformation.