Craig W. Koenig, who served as the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) Board chairman, passed away on November 16. He was 81.
As the Chairman and CEO of the Cleveland, OH-based family business Koenig Sporting Goods, Koenig oversaw the company’s growth from two stores in the late 1960s to an independent retail chain of 40 stores in the 1990s.
Koenig served on the NSGA Board of Directors from 1985 to 1992 and was Chairman from 1990 to 1991.
Koenig’s Father, Walter, was inducted into the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame in 1988 and his younger brother Brian became president and chief operating officer of Koenig Sporting Goods.
Craig W. Koenig grew up in East Cleveland, received his undergraduate and Master’s degrees from Indiana University and joined the family business in 1968 after a brief time with NCR in Dayton, OH.
“We are very saddened to learn of the passing of Mr. Koenig and extend our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues,” said Matt Carlson, NSGA president and CEO. “Mr. Koenig was a very astute businessman who was willing to share his passion and expertise with the rest of the sporting goods industry. Mr. Koenig and his family were incredibly supportive of NSGA’s mission to empower sporting goods retailers and team dealers with the tools they needed for success.”
Clarence W. Koenig started the family business in 1914 as Koenig Hardware Company. His son Walter entered the business in 1933 and expanded the sporting goods section into a full-line department covering 50 percent of the store, known as the C.W. Koenig Company.
When Craig and his brother Brian Koenig entered the business in the late 1960s, one of its two stores was still split between hardware and sporting goods sales. The other location was recognized as the first sporting goods retailer in an enclosed shopping mall in 1967, which led to a decision to focus solely on sporting goods.
Koenig Sporting Goods expanded its retail footprint to Akron, OH, Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania, Buffalo and Upstate New York, Virginia and West Virginia. It also increased the presence of its team division in those markets. In August 1997, the Woolworth Corporation bought 27 Koenig Sporting Goods Stores and converted them into Champs Sports stores.
Koenig and his wife Pattie were long-time members of Chagrin Valley Country Club in Chagrin Falls, OH, where he served as president. Koenig is survived by his wife, Pattie, two children, granddaughter, brother Brian, and sister. His parents, Walter and Eleanor, and his sister Barbara predeceased him.
Visitation will be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST on November 20 at the Tabone-Komorowski Funeral Home in Solon, OH. A mass of Christian burial will be held at 10 a.m. EST on November 21 at St. Rita’s Church in Solon, OH. The family requests contributions, rather than flowers, be made in Craig W. Koenig’s name to Saint Anthony Wayside Shrine, 9531 Akron-Canfield Road, P.O. Box 595, Canfield, OH 44406-0595.
Image courtesy NSGA
