Gone But Not Forgotten

January 7, 2008
SGB Update

The sporting goods industry lost several familiar faces during 2007. Among them, ASICS Corporation chairman Kihachiro Onitsuka died on Saturday, September 29 of heart failure in a hospital in Kobe, Japan. He was 89. Mr. Onitsuka was born on May 29, 1918, in Tottori Prefecture in western Japan. In 1949, he started Onitsuka Co. Ltd., the first sports shoe company in Japan. In 1977, ASICS Corporation was formed through a merger of Onitsuka Co. Ltd, G.T.O. Co., an equipment manufacturer, and Jelenk Co., a sports apparel manufacturer.


Jack Schlicht, retired owner of Milwaukee Sporting Goods and former chairman of the National Sporting Goods Association, died Thursday, August 30, 2997. Schlicht served on the NSGA Board of Directors from 1988-2001, including one term as Chairman in 1994.


Arthur Jones, the inventor of Nautilus training equipment in 1970, passed away. Jones employed Nautilus shell-shaped cams to achieve optimal exertion through a full range of motion in single-station training equipment.


Charles William (Bill) Cramer, chairman of the board of Cramer Products, Inc., passed away June 4, 2007 at the age of 86. He served as president of Cramer from 1973 – 1976, and also served the company as vice president of international sales and executive vice president. He retired in 1985, became vice chairman of the board in 1986, and was named chairman of the board in 1992.


Richmond B. Hosley, 60, former president, international division for Jockey International Inc., passed away on March 10, 2007. Mr. Hosley was born in 1947 in New Haven, CT.


Roswell Brayton, Jr., Woolrich’s president, passed away suddenly last week. He was 55 years old. Brayton collapsed on March 12, 2007 at Woolrich headquarters in Woolrich, PA. He was rushed to Jersey Shore Hospital where medical personnel were unable to revive him. A sixth generation of the founding Rich family, Roswell grew up in Woolrich, Penn. and joined the company in 1978. Brayton became president of Woolrich in 1996 and assumed the role of CEO in 1997.

Gone But Not Forgotten…

SGB Update

Roswell Brayton, Jr., Woolrich’s president, passed away suddenly last week. He was 55 years old. Brayton collapsed on March 12, 2007 at Woolrich headquarters in Woolrich, PA. He was rushed to Jersey Shore Hospital where medical personnel were unable to revive him. A sixth generation of the founding Rich family, Roswell grew up in Woolrich, Penn. and joined the company in 1978. Brayton became president of Woolrich in 1996 and assumed the role of CEO in 1997.


Michael Corvino, president of JanSport, was killed July 14 in a car accident. Corvino was promoted to president of the Jansport brand in 2004 after serving as VP sales and merchandising for VF Corporation’s VF Imagewear division and VP/General Manager for VF Solutions, based in Nashville. 


Footwear veteran Jacques Lavertue, president and GM of the Outdoor Group at Wolverine World Wide, lost an eight-month battle with cancer in October. He was 53. Lavertue joined Wolverine World Wide in 1997 as head of the Merrell brand, which he led successfully for more than a decade. Most recently, Lavertue was in charge of the Outdoor Group – comprised of the Merrell, Sebago and Patagonia Footwear brands – and was an integral part of Wolverine’s senior management team.

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