Murray McCory, co-founder of JanSport credited with developing many of the brand’s iconic products, passed away in Seattle, WA, at 80. His daughter, Heidi Van Brost, confirmed his death to the New York Times. The cause was said to be congestive heart failure.

According to the New York Times obituary, McCory, who until the early 1980s had the surname Pletz, came up with Jansport in the sixties as a student at the University of Washington after winning first place in a national competition sponsored by aluminum producer Alcoa. His winning design, shown below, was an adjustable hiking backpack featuring a lightweight aluminum frame and a nylon pack with a pocket for a water bottle.

Murray Pletz’s winning design. Illustration courtesy Hippie, Inc.
Traditional hiking backpacks at the time featured one-size-fits-all wooden frames. McCory founded JanSport with his soon-to-be-wife, Jan Lewis, in 1967. They focused on external-frame backpacks but soon expanded into snowshoes, a frame backpack for dogs and sleeping bags. McCory’s cousin Skip Yowell handled sales and marketing and helped co-found the business.


Other innovations from McCory include JanSport’s SuperBreak backpack, which became ubiquitous in high schools by the mid-eighties, and a tent featuring a dome-shaped frame that was both lightweight and strong enough to resist the wind.

JanSport was sold to K2 Corporation, a ski maker, in 1972 and has been owned by VF Corp. since 1986.

Lead Image courtesy JanSport (Murray McCory pictured right) and eBay