The Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame Committee elected four industry leaders to join its 2012 Class. The inductees, who will officially be inducted at the NSGA Management Conference & Team Dealer Summit next May, include Don Lucas, Luke's Locker; Randy Ruch, Schuylkill Valley Sports; Neil Stillwell, The Game; and the late Cliff Keen, Cliff Keen Athletic.

According to Committee Chairman Bob Dickman, Senior Vice President of Purchasing for BSN Sports, “These four inductees have done extraordinary things in their careers to move the sporting goods industry forward. They are all truly leaders, innovators, and industry icons, and I am looking forward to the opportunity to induct them at the 2012 NSGA Management Conference & Team Dealer Summit.”

With the induction of these honorees, the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame will have inducted 154 of the industry's pioneers and leaders since 1956. Keen, Lucas, Ruch and Stillwell will be honored the evening of Tuesday, May 8 at the Westin La Cantera Resort in San Antonio, Texas.

More about each inductee:

Cliff Keen
Cliff Keen Athletic

The late Cliff Keen's accomplishments in wrestling are numerous, and his impact on the sport and the sporting goods industry are still being felt today with the company bearing his name – Cliff Keen Athletic.

As the head wrestling coach at the University of Michigan for 45 years from 1925-1970, Keen's teams went an amazing 268-91-9, won 13 Big Ten team Championships, and had 68 All-Americans. Individual wrestlers he coached won 11 National Championships and 81 individual Big Ten Championships.

Keen's career not only included his service as the coach at Michigan. He also coached the 1948 U.S. Olympic wrestling team, served on the U.S. Olympic Committee, and wrote a book on the fundamentals of amateur wrestling, Championship Wrestling.

He is a member of the University of Michigan's Athletics Hall of Honor, the state of Michigan's Sports Hall of Fame, and the U.S. National Wrestling Hall of Fame. In addition, the wrestling arena at the University of Michigan is named Cliff Keen Arena.

One of his biggest accomplishments, however, was when he invented the first wrestling ear guard to protect wrestlers from “cauliflower ears”, a deformation caused from repeated blows to the ear. This invention has become mandatory for wrestlers to wear in practice and matches today.

In 1958, Keen and his son, Jim, started Cliff Keen Athletic, to manufacture, sell and promote the ear guard he created, while educating the wrestling world on cauliflower ear. It was Keen's belief that unless he addressed the issue of cauliflower ear, parents would discourage their young athletes from participating in wrestling due to the concern for permanent disfigurement of the wrestler's ears.

Today, Cliff Keen Athletic provides protective equipment, uniforms and workout gear for wrestlers across the world. The company's product line also includes officials' wear for prep, college and professional sports officials and umpires, as well as custom uniforms for triathlon clubs.

His invention and the company's continued success are hallmarks of a man who dedicated his life to the sport of wrestling and its success, and to building young men who became successful off the mat.

According to his grandson, Tom Keen, “He was a builder of men. He influenced so many people throughout his life that have had lasting impacts on not only the sport of wrestling, but society as a whole.”

Don Lucas
Founder/Owner
Luke's Locker

Even while having a successful career as a commercial real estate attorney, Don Lucas had a passion for running. He was a member of a small but dedicated group of friends who ran together during lunch on the weekdays and in surrounding communities of Dallas on the weekends in the 1960s.

During those early years, Don set out to find a source of running shoes. While today, thousands of different styles of running and walking shoes are available, only a handful of running shoes existed in 1970. And there was no such thing as a specialty running store. Due to the obvious need and desire of the small running community in Dallas for shoes and accessories, Lucas created Luke's Locker in 1970 to meet those needs.

Today, Luke's Locker has nine locations throughout Texas, and the company is seen as one of the top specialty running retailers in the country. Run by all the members of his family, including his wife and three sons, the company is responsible for hundreds of running fundraisers that give back thousands of dollars to their local communities.

Lucas himself is a respected businessman, teacher, industry advocate, and is known as a pioneer of specialty running. His vision to begin the company and his leading-edge merchandising of running product in his stores became the standard for others to follow. He is well known for his desire to work together with his vendors for a win/win relationship and for his efforts to mentor and encourage his employees to become leaders within the industry. Many of them have gone on to become store owners, sales reps, and marketing employees for vendors.

His list of civic activities and awards are too numerous to name, but he is a member of the Running Specialty Stores Hall of Fame, serves as the Race Director of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Dallas, is a member of the Board of the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau, and a past Board Chairman of the Dallas YMCA.

According to Charlie Wright, partner at Bob Wood & Associates, “Luke's is a class company, run by a class family, which was all started by a young man who liked to stay active by running the streets of Dallas. We all owe Don Lucas a debt of gratitude for his passion and persistence in bringing better running shoes and creating better running events for the professional and weekend runner.”

Randy Ruch
Founder/Retired CEO
Schuylkill Valley Sports

Randy Ruch is the founder, and retired CEO of Schuylkill Valley Sports, a 19-store retail chain based in Pottstown, Pa.

After earning a bachelor's degree in mathematics education from Villanova University, Ruch founded Schuylkill Valley Sports in 1971, building the company from a one-store company to a well established 19-store regional chain with a thriving team business, serving Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Known as a hard worker with tremendous business acumen, Ruch's efforts not only within his own company, but throughout the industry are well documented. He served with distinction on NSGA's Board of Directors for six years, on the Athletic Dealers of America Board for 10 years (one term as Chairman), on the Editorial Advisory Board for Sporting Goods Business magazine for more than 10 years, and was the chairman of the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame Committee for six years.

He is also dedicated to his community, serving on various boards and committees. For over 20 years, Ruch served on the Board of the Phoenixville Area YMCA, and as its chairman in 2005-06. He has received a number of awards from the organization, including Volunteer of the Year in 1993 and the Humanitarian Award in 2005. His other local service includes serving as a board member of Phoenixville Federal Bank and Trust, as a girls softball coach in the area's Babe Ruth baseball league, and as treasurer of his alma mater's Philadelphia Alumni Club.

According to Jay Schaeffer, President & CEO of the Freedom Valley YMCA, “During my 40 years as a professional YMCA director, Randy Ruch has been, and continues to be, one of the best volunteers with whom I have had the pleasure and opportunity to be associated.”

Neil Stillwell
Founder
The Game Headwear

Since 1966, Neil Stillwell has been involved in the sporting goods industry, leaving an indelible mark as a team dealer, a retailer, and since 1985 when he founded The Game Headwear Co., a manufacturer located in Phenix City, Ala.

Stillwell began his career by opening Neil's Sport Shop, also in Phenix City, which eventually grew to include nine retail stores across two states, and surpassed $10 million in sales.

As a pioneer in the collegiate licensed product and souvenir concession businesses, he became the first football merchandise souvenir concessionaire at Auburn University, taking over the football stadium merchandise sales at the University of Alabama, University of Georgia, Florida State University, University of Florida, and Clemson University soon thereafter.

In 1985, Stillwell founded The Game Headwear Co., which has been instrumental in expanding the collegiate headwear business in the U.S. due to its innovative designs and quality manufacturing. The Game was the first branded headwear company to place its logo on the outside of caps, a practice that has become the industry standard, and Stillwell and his company were the first to sign endorsement contracts with college football coaches to wear their caps on the sidelines. By 1992, under Stillwell's leadership, the company grew to $82 million in sales and more than 250 employees, and the company's “The Bar” cap, remains the No. 1 headwear design in college sports today.

The next year, he partnered with NASCAR driver Davey Allison to establish A-Star Promotions, a souvenir and merchandise concession company, for Allison's No. 28 Texaco-Havoline team. This platform set the stage for Kudzu Headwear, which Stillwell started in 1994. Kudzu has forever changed the quality of headwear merchandise used by NASCAR's top teams, and the quality of headwear merchandise sold at NASCAR races.

Since re-acquiring The Game from Russell Athletic in 1998, Stillwell and his partners have regained market share, and sales reached $40 million. They have introduced “On the Field” headwear, and more than 1,000 college baseball teams wear The Game headwear during games.

According to Bill Kittredge, Vice President of Kittredge & Associates Sales Agency, “While Neil Stillwell should be inducted into the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame for his groundbreaking innovations and his entrepreneurial success, the most important reasons are his honesty, character, and goodwill, which overshadow the range of his accomplishments.”