The sporting goods industry bid farewell to several longtime industry stalwarts this year, including William “Bill” Modell, chairman of the board of Modells Sporting Goods, who died February 14, 2008, in New York. He was 86 years old. Under his leadership, Modells Sporting Goods grew from four stores to 136 full-line stores in New Yorks tri-state area, New England, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
Robert W. Miller, chairman emeritus of Big 5 Sporting Goods, died Sept. 11, 2008 at the age of 85. Miller was part of the founding management team of Big 5 Sporting Goods in 1955.
Richard “Dick” Burke, chairman and co-founded of Trek Bicycle Corporation died in a Milwaukee hospital on March 10, 2008 of complications from cardiac surgery. He was 73.
Phil Chiarella, an EVP of Canstar Sports USA (formerly Bauer) when it was sold to Nike Inc. in 1995, died Sept. 27, 2008 at the age of 66 after a long battle with prostate cancer. He has been credited with leading the development of the molded skate boot.
Mel Cotton, owner of the San Jose sporting goods store bearing his name, passed away on June 30, 2008 at the age of 91. He founded Mel Cotton's Sporting Goods forty years ago.
Theodore (Ted) G. Robinson, a past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, died March 2, 2008 at his home in Laguna Beach, CA after a ten month battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 84. With an architectural career spanning over five decades, Robinson is credited with over 160 projects that bear his influence, including courses in the Western United States, Hawaii, Mexico, Japan, Korea and Indonesia.
