DICK’S Sporting Goods was founded in 1948 when an 18-year-old Dick Stack was working at an Army surplus store in Binghamton, New York. An avid fisherman, Dick was approached by the store owner to come up with a list of products needed to get into the fishing tackle business.
After Dick presented his suggestions, the owner told him he was a dumb kid and had no idea what he was doing. Dick was upset and promptly quit. He went to his grandmother’s house where he spent a lot of time as a kid and told her what had happened. Dick’s grandmother asked how much it would cost to build the store himself. Dick said it would cost $300.
His grandmother then went to the cookie jar where she kept her life savings and gave him $300 and told him, “Do it yourself.” Dick used that money and his relentless work-ethic to open a bait-and-tackle shop in Binghamton. By the late 1970’s, he expanded his product line to include much of what you’ll find at DICK’S Sporting Goods today.
