Sam Barcelona Jr. (Barcelona Sporting Goods), Tim Boyle (Columbia Sportswear), Mort Finkelstein (MC Sporting Goods), and Scott Hedrick (Pro Athlete Inc.) will join 188 retailers, team dealers, manufacturers, and industry leaders who have earned the NSGA Hall of Fame Award since its inception in 1955.

Barcelona, Boyle, Finkelstein, and Hedrick were selected for the Class of 2026 by the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame Committee at its May meeting.

“The Class of 2026 has been tremendous contributors and ambassadors to our industry, and they are so deserving of this highest honor,” said Gordon Geiger, Chairman of the NSGA Board of Directors. “Welcoming them to the Hall of Fame is a great thrill, and it’s wonderful to see them recognized for their achievements.”

The NSGA will hold its Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremony on May 19, 2026, at the Grand Hyatt Nashville in Nashville, TN, the site of the NSGA 2026 Leadership Conference. Details on attending the event will be announced soon.

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The late Sam Barcelona Jr.’s Hall of Fame career in the sporting goods industry was assisted by longtime best friend Slater Martin, who played in the NBA for 11 years and is a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. After Barcelona served in the Navy in World War II, he worked as a salesman for Holt’s Sporting Goods in downtown Houston, TX, before joining Martin as co-owner of Slater Martin Sporting Goods.

Barcelona became the sole owner of the company, renamed it Barcelona Sporting Goods in 1956, and continued working until the age of 94. Barcelona, who passed away June 11, 2024, at 97, became a respected figure in the sporting goods industry through innovation, dedication and hard work. However, this was his passion, as he developed strong relationships with coaches, athletic directors and sports organizations.

Barcelona and his brother Dennis grew the company into multiple locations that operated for over 60 years. He valued relationships with long-time customers and employees and possessed an ability to lead and inspire. His generosity included donating equipment to athletes who lacked the means to participate in sports.

Barcelona’s pioneering work set industry standards and inspired countless individuals. He shared insights from his experience, and his influence, mentorship, and guidance shaped the careers of many young professionals. His numerous contributions continue to enrich the industry.

Tim Boyle is the chairman, president and CEO of Columbia Sportswear Company, originally becoming president and CEO in 1988 and later becoming chairman in 2020. Columbia Sportswear was founded in 1938 by Paul Lamfrom, the father of Gert Boyle. The company began as a family-owned hat distributor, known as the Columbia Hat Company, named after the nearby Columbia River. After the sudden death of his father in 1970, Tim Boyle and his mother, Gert, took over the operations of Columbia, rescuing it from bankruptcy.

Under Tim Boyle’s leadership, Columbia Sportswear has grown into a global leader in the design, sourcing, marketing, and distribution of outdoor apparel and footwear. The company is recognized for its innovative products, including the Interchange System and Omni-Heat Reflective technology. Columbia Sportswear went public in 1998 and has since acquired several notable brands, including Sorel, Mountain Hardwear and Prana. Today, Columbia Sportswear is a global corporation with nearly 10,000 employees, selling in over 100 countries. Tim Boyle’s leadership has been instrumental in the company’s success and growth over the years, with net sales of nearly $3.4 billion in the past year.

Gert Boyle was the first woman inducted into the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame in 2003. Gert and Tim Boyle will be the first mother-son combination of inductees in the Hall of Fame.

The late Mort Finkelstein epitomized evolution. First, it involved transitioning the family business into a sporting goods company and helping MC Sporting Goods grow into a prominent regional and national retailer. After the family sold the business in 1990, Finkelstein remained a fixture in the industry in various areas until his death in 2023 at the age of 93.

Finkelstein’s father, Jack, started a men’s clothing business and switched to government surplus products during World War II. As the business began to wane, Mort and his brothers, Edward and Raleigh, became interested in sporting goods and changed the company’s name from Michigan Clothiers to MC Sporting Goods. The company was acquired by a publicly traded company in 1986 and became the largest sporting goods retailer in the nation, operating over 80 stores across seven states.

The Finkelstein family owned and operated the company until they retired in 1990. Mort Finkelstein went on to work with MacGregor, Sand-Knit, Riddell, Multi-Grip, and First American Corporation in sales and marketing, and supported other sales agents in the industry. He teamed up with Ed Tobergte in the ownership of Gear 2000 football protective pads and Stromgen Supports, and after selling those companies, he purchased Shoeless Joe baseball and softball gloves.

Finkelstein was regarded as a leader, mentor and tough businessman. He was also deeply involved in giving back to local, state, and national Jewish organizations, as well as Michigan State University.

Scott Hedrick’s family started Pro Athlete Sporting Goods in 1987 as a traditional brick-and-mortar retailer, but he had a vision for greater success via the Internet just before the start of the 21st century. Hedrick led a successful digital transformation in the sporting goods retail industry, with e-commerce websites such as JustBats.com, JustGloves.com, and the recent launch of JustPaddles.com for pickleball.

The use of e-commerce opened the door for Pro Athlete to conduct business throughout the U.S., and in 2004, it transitioned exclusively to online sales. JustBats.com has been ranked in the Top 10 for several years in America’s Best Online Shops published by Newsweek.

Hedrick has also created a culture of excellence, innovation and community engagement at Pro Athlete. His leadership and mentorship have impacted many lives, and Pro Athlete has been nominated and selected several times as one of the top companies to work for in the Kansas City area. In 2020, Pro Athlete and Hedrick won the Mr. K Small Business Award, named after the late Kansas City Royals Founder Ewing Kauffman.

Philanthropy has also been a significant part of Pro Athlete, from the company’s involvement in a local adaptive sports program to its annual JustBats June Jam baseball tournament in Kansas City, where thousands of dollars in prizes are donated to the event’s champions and runners-up.

Images courtesy NSGA