To Jim Gray, Al Davis was more than a fascinating interview subject.

Much more.

"Al was a dear friend of mine, a mentor," the award-winning sportscaster told me softly last week. "I loved Al and spent a lot of time with Al over the years.

"We'd go to dinner quite often in Los Angeles. Hundreds of times."

And yes, one of Davis' lifelong maxims would inevitably come up in the course of their sitdowns.

"I said, 'You know what, you said, 'Commitment to Excellence.' Perhaps there should be a Hall of Excellence,'" Gray recalled telling Davis. "He said, 'Jim, that's a good idea.'

"I just kind of blurted it out and that was that."

Years later, with Gray and his wife Frann having joined forces with Tom Brady to curate and open what Brady referred to as a "Smithsonian of sports artifacts" at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, Gray had more than inspiration for his passion project.

He also had a name for their venture and venue.

The Hall of Excellence, as its description aptly says, "brings together the rarest memorabilia from the world's most celebrated icons … [and] reveals untold stories through extraordinary artifacts - from Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves to Oprah Winfrey's Presidential Medal of Freedom."

It's a solemn space, a mindful museum that requires respect from the most ardent of sports fans. A white-glove treatment that honors the sweat, blood, mud and tears of those highlighted.

Because beyond the first pair of Air Jordans Michael Jordan ever wore in a game, in 1984, being on display, there is also the bat with which Babe Ruth hit his purported called-shot home run in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series.

The Converse rocked by Magic Johnson in the 1988 NBA Finals are in a case, as is Dr. J's 1983 NBA title ring and Shaquille O'Neal's 1993 NBA Rookie of the Year trophy.

On another wall rests the batting helmet Hank Aaron wore when he hit his then-record 715th career home run in 1974, right next to Las Vegas Valley High grad Greg Maddux's 1993 Cy Young Award and gloves used by Mickey Mantle in his 1956 MVP season and Reggie Jackson in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series, when Mr. October hit three home runs on three consecutive pitches.

The plane ticket from John Madden's last-ever flight in 1979 is here, as is Charles Woodson's 1997 Heisman Trophy, an Aces WNBA trophy, a jersey A'ja Wilson wore when she set the WNBA's single-season scoring mark in 2024 and a Vegas Golden Knights NHL championship ring from 2023. While a Raiders Super Bowl XVIII ring and a 1966 AFL football with the signature of the then-commissioner – you guessed it, Al Davis – emblazoned on it is in Gray's personal case, it also boasts his media credentials from the 1991 NBA Finals, his star from the Hollywood Walk of Fame and four of his Emmys.

In separate areas, Ali's robe from his final training camp in 1981, Kobe Bryant's jersey and warmup from the 1996 McDonald's All-American High School game, and the sweater worn by Alex Ovechkin when he became the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer this past spring, as well as individual golf balls signed by several United States presidents and a ball from Tiger Woods' first Masters win in 1997.

Visitors take a self-guided tour, though guests can be issued a listening device to hear additional context on exhibits from the disembodied voices of Brady, Winfrey, Morgan Freeman, Bob Costas and Calvin "Snoop Dogg" Broadus Jr.

For those of you who came of age in the late-1990s, it's the All-Star Cafe…on steroids. But in a good way.

"We want to inspire," Gray said. "We want to educate and we want to entertain and, you know, it's not necessarily about the nostalgia of the past.

"While that's great and rekindles memories, it's also to springboard into the future so the next generation has something to strive for, something to look up to and something to say, 'You know what, that can be me.'"

Gray referenced Brady's personal effects from his started-near-the-bottom-now-he's-here journey.

On display in the Trophy Room, which also houses a Commissioner's (MLB), an O'Brien (NBA) and a Lombardi (NFL), rest all seven of Brady's Super Bowl rings. Right around the corner from the draft card showing his being taken by the Patriots with the 199th pick of the 2000 NFL Draft.

From sixth-round underdog to Tier-1 GOAT?

"There's an aura about all of those different pieces of memorabilia," Brady told me, referencing the entire museum. "I want people to think that one day, one of their pieces of memorabilia can be in there. Whether they're an actor, whether they're a singer, whether they're a performer, an athlete, if you've got the ability to work hard, be disciplined over a period of time and commit and to bring the optimism and enthusiasm and to deal with failure, you're going to be a champion in life.

"That's what it's all about."

Gray concurred.

"It can be anybody," he said. "It's up to them. And if you just come through there, there's something for everybody."

Like Winfrey's Medal of Freedom, Clint Eastwood's Academy Award for directing "The Unforgiven" and, ah yes, the 1969 Elvis getup.

"The King," Gray said. "The King of Las Vegas' first suit that he ever wore for his residency at the International Hotel."

Given Las Vegas' rise as a sports capital to rival its status in entertainment, the museum being here is a natural.

Especially since the exhibits will be constantly evolving and Hall of Fame basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian and the local university, which gave Southern Nevada its first-ever high profile national championship in 1990, are yet to be represented in these hallowed halls.

"Yes, UNLV," Gray said. "That's where it all started. I [covered] those games back with Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon and Greg Anthony and Coach Tark. I did those games on CBS. Those were great times."

Times that, through the Hall of Excellence, can now live in perpetuity.