If you ask the Boss, New Jersey rarely gets the respect it deserves.
But Sunday night, as he took his place among the first-ever inductees into the New Jersey Hall of Fame, Bruce Springsteen thanked his fellow honorees for helping to show the world what the Garden State's got.
"Even with this Hall of Fame, we know another bad Jersey joke is around the corner ... (so we try) not just to do our best, but to stick it in your face," he said, getting an appreciative laugh from the crowd. "That's the fighting spirit of New Jersey."
Sunday night, Springsteen and 14 other honorees were inducted into the Hall of Fame at a star-studded ceremony at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.
One by one, famous locals or their representatives took the stage to remind their neighbors, and the world, of New Jersey's contributions.
"It's amazing what we've accomplished, and people just don't know it," said Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who presented some of the evening's awards. "This is the chance for New Jersey itself to recognize who we are."
Ol' Blue Eyes joined the Boss among the musical members of the Hall of Fame's first class.
"I always said that Sinatra owned New Jersey, but he'd rent me a little bit of it down the Shore," Springsteen said as he presented some of Frank Sinatra's family with an engraved crystal plaque.
Other inductees included Yankee Yogi Berra and astronaut Buzz Aldrin, now neighbors in Montclair, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, and writer and Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison.
Posthumous awards went to Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, American Red Cross founder Clara Barton, Green Bay Packers Coach Vince Lombardi and publisher Malcolm Forbes, represented Sunday night by his son Steve Forbes, the publisher and former presidential candidate.
Gen. Robert Wood Johnson II, familiar to many through the philanthropic foundation that bears his name, was represented by his grandson, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson.
For Underground Railroad pioneer Harriet Tubman, organizers made an exception to the rule that all inductees must live in New Jersey for at least five years. Booker presented Tubman's award to the head of the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, N.Y.
"Her memory still serves us. Her statues sit on my desk in the mayor's office," he said.
Actress Meryl Streep and former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley also were among those honored, but they were unable to attend the ceremony.
The New Jersey Hall of Fame is a nonprofit organization formed in 2005 by vote of the state Legislature. Gov. Jon Corzine, who signed the legislation into law, was on hand Sunday night to honor the inductees.
"Tonight's inductees set a standard ... It isn't over yet," he said, noting many other Garden State natives are worthy of the honor. "There are lots of heroes, and lots of Hall of Famers here."
So far, the Hall of Fame exists solely online at njhalloffame.com. Now that the first class of inductees has been honored, the organization's leaders say they plan to start fundraising to build the physical museum.
A location for the museum has not yet been announced, but both Booker and a Corzine spokeswoman said Newark -- New Jersey's largest city -- may be considered.
Candidates for induction were first nominated by panels of experts in each of five categories -- Sports, Arts and Entertainment, Historical, General, and Enterprise. Finalists were then chosen by the New Jersey Hall of Fame Academy, made up of representatives of 100 New Jersey organizations, ethnic groups and media outlets.
New Jersey residents made the final selections, casting their ballots online on the Hall of Fame website.
Linda Balati of Paramus said she won her ticket to the induction ceremony when she voted online for Bruce Springsteen.
"He's what New Jersey is: He started out from nowhere, worked hard, and he was successful," she said. "You don't realize how many people started out in New Jersey. He's making New Jersey known."
Springsteen was the final inductee to be honored Sunday night. His award was presented by surprise guest Danny DeVito, also a Jersey Shore native.
Before launching into a performance of "Glory Days" that sent audience members leaping to their feet, Springsteen thanked New Jersey for allowing him to live his life the way he wanted.
"The ability to just go about my life was protected here, by the people here," he said. "When that bell rings, we always come out swinging. ... God bless the Garden State."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.