Oshman's Sporting Goods Inc. was a

sporting goods Sports equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear, which varies in shapes, size, and usage in a particular sport. It includes balls, nets, rackets, protective gears like helmets, goggles, etc. Since the p ...

retailer in the United States. Their headquarters were in

East End, Houston, Texas East End Houston, managed by the East End District (EED), is a district in eastern Houston, Texas, United States, located between the eastern edge of downtown to the Port of Houston and South to Hobby Airport. The District is home to Houston's ...

.Oshman's Sporting Goods
" ''

Bloomberg Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...

''. Retrieved on September 14, 2011. "2302 Maxwell Lane Houston, TX 77023 United States" It operated traditional sporting goods stores and Oshman's Supersports USA megastores.

History

Early years (1919–1945)

In 1919,About Us
" Oshman's Sporting Goods. February 1, 2003. Retrieved on September 15, 2011. J.S. "Jake" Oshman, an immigrant from

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

,"Founder of Oshman's Chain Dies." ''Houston Post''. Saturday May 1, 1965. Section 1, Page 1, continued on Section 1, Page 3. Available via microfilm from the

Houston Public Library Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. History Houston Lyceum and the Carnegie Library The Houston Public Library system traces its founding to the creation of the second Houston Lyceum in ...

Central Library Jesse H. Jones Building. opened a store, Oshman's Dry Goods, in

Richmond, Texas Richmond is a suburb of Houston and the county seat of Fort Bend County, Texas, United States. The city is located within the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city population was 11,627. History In 1822, a group of Austin's ...

. In 1931 he moved to Houston by buying the stock of the bankrupt army-surplus store Crawford-Austin and liquidated its inventory. He discovered in the process that sporting goods, especially fishing and hunting supplies, sold well. In 1933, he opened the first Oshman Outdoor Store, in downtown Houston at Capitol and Fannin.

Expansion and public offering (1946–1979)

Founded as a proprietorship, Oshman's business was incorporated as Oshman's Sporting Goods 15 years later, in 1946, as the country emerged from World War II. As business increased, the store moved to a larger location at 902 Main in Downtown Houston. Oshman's opened locations in suburban shopping centers in Greater Houston, and then, in Bay City, Beaumont, Corpus Christi, and

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

. Oshman died in 1965. By that year Oshman's was Texas's largest sporting goods chain, and it was the largest sporting goods chain in the southwestern United States. At that time the company had ten sporting goods stores and two wholesale firms located in the Gulf Coast region. In the 1970s, Oshman's was expanding in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

area.

Acquisitions and growth (1980–current)

In 1978, Oshman's purchased the rights to the trade name of

Abercrombie and Fitch Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (A&F) is an American lifestyle retailer, founded in 1892 which focuses on contemporary clothing targeting customers in their early 20's to mid 40's. Headquartered in New Albany, Ohio, the company operates four offshoot ...

from

First National Bank of Chicago First Chicago Bank was a Chicago, United States-based retail and commercial bank tracing its roots to 1863, when it received one of the first charters under the then new National Bank Act. Over the years, the bank operated under several names inc ...

for $1.5 million"Why Abercrombie Is Losing Its Shirt"
''New York''. Retrieved February 12, 2014. ($5.2 million in 2013 dollars). At the time, Abercrombie and Fitch had filed bankruptcy and was a brand that sold fishing and hunting gear. Oshman's made plans to use the Abercrombie and Fitch name to create a mail-order business. As of October 31, 1987 the company operated 185 traditional stores, one Super Sports USA store, and 27 Abercrombie and Fitch stores. Around December 25 that year it stopped its proposed $50 million sale (of which $20 million could be in banknotes) of the stores to an investor group in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. In 1988, Abercrombie was acquired by Limited Brands. In 1993, the company stated that it planned to close 33 stores. In 2001, Gart Sports Company announced that it would buy Oshman's for a combination of cash and stock valued around $82 million (~$ in ). In June of that year it merged into GSC Acquisition Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Gart. Many of Oshman's stores became

Sports Authority Sports Authority, Inc. (formerly The Sports Authority) was an American sports retailer based in Englewood, Colorado. At its peak, Sports Authority operated 463 stores in 45 States and Puerto Rico. The company's website was on the GSI Commer ...

stores; they have since closed after filing for bankruptcy in 2016.

Corporate affairs

In 1991, the company stated that it would consolidate the offices of its

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

divisions into its headquarters in Houston. The company said that the competitive conditions of the retailing industry and the slowing economy prompted its move.Briefly Oshman's plans to consolidate headquarters HOUSTON
" ''San Antonio Express-News''. January 31, 1991. Retrieved on September 14, 2011.

References

External links

Oshman's Sporting Goods
(Archive) {{Dick's Sporting Goods Defunct retail companies of the United States Clothing retailers of the United States Sporting goods retailers of the United States Companies based in Houston Defunct companies based in Texas American companies established in 1919 Retail companies established in 1919 Retail companies disestablished in 2001 1919 establishments in Texas 2001 disestablishments in Texas