Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame and inductees associated with ice hockey are inducted for their contributions to the fighting aspects of the game (to date, both hockey-related honorary inductees have been associated with the Buffalo Sabres, who play from Belfast). The honorary inductees were included as an acknowledgement that bare-knuckle boxing ended as a mainstream sport over a century ago, and that the honorary inductee system allows notable figures that promoted activity similar to bare knuckle boxing, who might be more recognizable to modern audiences, to be included in the Hall. For the inaugural induction ceremony in 2009, former undisputed heavyweight champion Leon Spinks was
Tommy Spinks Spinks was selected in the 1970 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings and played professionally during the early 1970s. However, he is not included on the Vikings' web site listing of past players. Spinks was inducted into the Louisiana Tech University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988. Spinks was the son of Methodist minister Otis Spinks (1900–1987) and Grace Spinks (1915–2003), who were living in Ruston, the location of Louisiana Tech, at the time of their deaths. The senior Spinkses are interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park off U.S. Highway 80 West in Ruston. Spinks graduated in 1966 from Woodlawn