At the Sports, Inc. Team Dealer Show in Denver in June, Rawlings Sporting Goods honored former Sports, Inc. CEO Dave Salvi by presenting him with a Rawlings Gold Glove Award.
Vice President of Team Sales Greg Bialis, Western Regional Sales Manager Dave Bracci, and Southern Regional Sales Manager Randy Kirby made the presentation.
While I am truly honored to receive such a prestigious award, said Salvi, I know that the reason it was given was because of our members and our staff. It is emblematic of the working relationship that we have with Rawlings and all of our vendors.
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award is awarded to the best Major League defensive players, known as the Finest in the Field. The Rawlings Gold Glove Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball players who exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League and the American League. Eighteen Gold Gloves are awarded each year, one at each of the nine positions in each league.
Since 1957 Rawlings Sporting Goods has presented the Rawlings Gold Glove award to the very best fielders in the American and National league to celebrate fielding excellence, said Bialis. It is an award that is cherished by every MLB player who has received it and sought by all those you have not. The award winners are chosen by their peers, and since its inception Rawlings has awarded 18 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards annually to the very best fielders in MLB. The award commemorates the ‘Finest in the Field.
Our relationship with Dave Salvi and Sports Inc. has been nothing but professional, and we have come to know Dave as an exemplary partner and friend. Presenting Dave Salvi with the Rawlings Gold Glove award in 2011 is a perfect token of our appreciation and respect for Dave and a fitting tribute to his legacy in the sporting goods arena. He is truly the ‘Finest in the Field.
Symbolic Gold Gloves are awarded internally at Rawlings for superior service to the company, but the Gold Glove is rarely awarded outside of the Rawlings family with the exception of the annual MLB defensive awards. Salvi was appreciative of the history and tradition the award represents, adding, I was surprised and thrilled to get the trophy. It shows the high regard our vendors have for Sports, Inc. and our members.
The Rawlings Gold Glove award is the most prestigious award in professional baseball as it represents the Finest in the Field, Bracci added. We feel Dave Salvi has represented the Finest in the Field on behalf of Sports, Inc. and wanted to award and recognize his efforts and thank him upon his retirement.
Salvi stepped down as CEO of Sports, Inc. on January 1, 2011 after spending 20 years at the company, 10 of them as CEO. He remains with the company in an advisory role. During his decade as CEO, Salvi oversaw the largest period of growth in the companys 45 year history, transforming Sports, Inc. into the largest sporting goods buying group in the country.
When Salvi took the helm, Sports, Inc. had around 300 members selling just over $800 million in retail sales annually. Today Sports, Inc. has over 400 members operating in excess of 550 locations from coast to coast and generating $1.5 billion in retail sales.
Said Sports, Inc. Athletics Division Marketing Manager Travis Elam, Dave has done an incredible amount of good for Sports, Inc., and every step along the way he has done it with the interests of the members in mind. We had a great show week in Denver, but probably the thing I will most remember years down the road will be the Gold Glove presentation. If youre a baseball fan, you know just how big a gesture this was on behalf of everyone we work with at Rawlings.
