by Ed Stack
Dad looks happy in the picture.
Proud that he’s there.
And full of hope that he might make that little shop work.
The original Dick’s store at 453½ Court Street in Binghamton. By this point, it had grown into two storefronts and offered work clothes alongside its inventory of bait and tackle. Still, “nite walkers” and worms earned high billing.
Three women who left their imprint on Dick Stack and his company. At center is his mother, my Nana; standing to the right is Nana’s mother; and at left is my father’s paternal grandmother, Mamie, who bankrolled her grandson’s first store.
It was from such a cookie jar that Mamie pulled $300 to finance Dad’s start in business. These days, we award one to every employee who has reached twenty-five years of service. Inside is a symbolic $300.
My uncle Ed and Dad, right, show off the interior of the first store, a year or two after its 1948 debut. Though barely out of his teens, Dick Stack was already establishing himself as his city’s go-to source for fishing gear and advice.
Fresh from his young company’s failure at the Hillcrest Shopping Center, Dad poses for a 1956 newspaper ad showcasing the reborn Dick’s. We’ve always respected the use of guns for hunting.
Here I am taking a break from catching for the Dick’s Little League team, my planned first step on a fairy-tale trek to the major leagues.
That’s me, suited up to play quarterback for Binghamton North High. By now I was dreaming of playing in the NFL, as well as the majors—but also learning that playing sports is its own reward, whatever the outcome.
Karl “Dutch” Krupitza, aka Gramp, an athlete throughout his life, a scratch golfer into his late eighties, and an inspiration to me in everything.
My dad at about the time I started working summers at Dick’s, pictured with a new specialty that would be among our mainstays: golf equipment.
My mom, the former Mary Ann Boyle, attended the annual Dick’s Open golf tournament with me in the early 2000s. Self-absorbed and high-strung in her youth, she eventually grew into a loving and generous matriarch to the Stack brood.
My sister Kim and I were a lot alike as kids. Ambitious, straitlaced, and dutiful, we were both pressed into service at Dick’s as teenagers and remain close today.
It has been gratifying, seeing my kids pursue sports with gusto and enjoying the benefits. Here’s the gang on a family ski trip to Snowmass, Colorado. Flanking me are Maggie, Brian, and Mary on the left, and Katie and Michael on the right.
Donna, Ryan, and I attend the US Open at the Oakmont Country Club in the Pittsburgh suburbs.
The Dick’s management team rings the bell to open our first day as a public company in 2002. Beside me at the lectern is Bill Colombo, our president. The tall character beside him is our CFO, Mike Hines.
Nike’s Ed Haberle, far left, joins a Dick’s brain trust at Pebble Beach a few years ago. Moving right, there’s me, Bill Colombo, Joe Schmidt, and my childhood friend, brother-in-law, and longtime Dick’s exec Tim Myers.
February 28, 2018: Two weeks after the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, I tell George Stephanopolous on ABC’s Good Morning America that we’re pulling assault-style rifles from all of our stores—and in so doing, touch off an eruption of praise and condemnation from coast to coast.
In all, Dick’s destroyed $5 million in assault weapons, some of which were collected in this carton.
Our stand against military-style weapons and decision to raise the minimum age for other gun sales sparked editorials, TV debates, thousands of emails and tweets, and public displays criticizing and backing us. Here is a typical display in front of the White House. One thing we didn’t provoke: action in Congress.
Up-and-coming Arizona ballplayers pose at a Sports Matter grant ceremony. The charitable campaign has pumped millions of dollars into community sports programs across America, exposing many thousands of young people to the transcendent benefits of competition.
The Dick’s marketing team celebrates our Emmy for We Could Be King, our first venture into feature filmmaking. Judd Ehrlich, the movie’s director, is holding the statuette. Frank Igrec and Ryan Eckel, both marketing execs, are to the left while Lauren Hobart, who was destined to become our president, stands on Ehrlich’s other side. The film portrays two Philadelphia high schools that have been bitter rivals for decades until a budget crisis merges them, forcing the coaches to find ways to bring players together.
An all-star cast was on hand for the premiere of our second feature-length movie, Keepers of the Game, which chronicled the triumphs and heartbreaks of a Native American girls’ lacrosse team. During the event, Ed presented the Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation Sports Matter Impact Award to NFL coach and broadcaster Jon Gruden. Coach Gruden has been a Sports Matter official ambassador since 2014 and has teamed up with our foundation to raise multiple team donations, ensuring we give every kid a chance to play.
Members of the Salmon River Shamrocks, the girls’ lacrosse team featured in Keepers of the Game. This all-Mohawk team was from the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation territory, where the game of lacrosse originated.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Writing this story has taken me back through more than seventy years of history at Dick’s, and reacquainted me with so many people who have contributed to the company since its earliest days as a tiny, seat-of-the-pants operation on the east side of Binghamton. The first and foremost contributor, obviously, was my father, to whom this book is dedicated. He started Dick’s, and when it failed, started it again—then did me the favor of ruining my teenage summers while teaching me the business that’s been central to my life. He lived the American dream, and he bequeathed it to me.
There was also my grandmother, who gave my dad $300 out of a cookie jar to start the company. Without her love and confidence in him, there’d be no story to tell. Dad’s success would have been unlikely, too, without Bob Aiken and the core staff of guys who worked at Court Street for twenty years or more. And Dad wouldn’t have been nearly so successful in life without his Donna.
The team that built Dick’s into the largest sporting goods retailer in the country includes some of my best friends—Mike Hines, Joe Schmidt, and Bill Colombo. Larry Schorr has been a key player in every twist and turn we’ve taken since Dad sold the company. Tim Myers has been a strong and steady presence since we were both in high school. Many vendors whom we’ve partnered with have helped us grow, too—Elliott Hill and Ed Haberle of Nike; Kevin Plank at Under Armour; Mark King at Adidas North America and Herbert Hainer at Adidas-Group; Chip Brewer (and yes, in his own way, Bruce Parker) at Callaway; and many, many others. I thank them all.
In telling this story, I relied on help from gentlemen who know the craft of storytelling far better than I do. First, Jerry Tarde helped me meet the right people to make this book a reality. My writer friend Earl Swift helped me transform a pile of disjointed memories into a logical narrative, a sometimes painful but ultimately rewarding process. He was patient, kind, and relentlessly good-humored throughout. Putting a book together is hard work, but we had quite a few laughs along the way.
My agent, David Granger, has looked out for me with care, ferocity, and a sharp, quick mind that never fails to impress. He has my everlasting thanks for treating me with such TLC.
And Rick Horgan, my editor at Scribner, has been enthusiastic about this story from the start, has been a hands-on and always helpful participant in its assembly, and a great collaborator with whom to work. Thank you, Rick.
These guys would agree, I’m sure, that two other people were essential to this book’s completion. My executive assistant, Vanessa Ellis, was the glue that held the effort together. She was as important to the completed manuscript as she is to the everyday operation at Dick’s—which is to say, irreplaceable. And my sister Kim helped chase down facts, dates, and names lost to memory, and offered helpful comments on the early drafts.
My greatest thanks go to my family, to whom I owe and dedicate my life.
To Denise, the mother of my children, thank you for partnering with me to raise five wonderful human beings. To Michael, Brian, Katie, Maggie, and Mary, you’ve kept me going during innumerable difficult and trying times. You are the joys of my life.
To Donna and Ryan, thank you for another chance at love. I’m thrilled to be experiencing this adventure with you.
Thanks again to all. This has been a wonderful journey. I have so enjoyed the ride. And when I look into the future I feel optimistic about Dick’s Sporting Goods, the United States, and our world. Our best days are ahead of us.
I believe that.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
© TOM CWENAR
ED STACK is the Chairman and CEO of DICK’S Sporting Goods. Born in Binghamton, New York, he now lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Donna. It’s How We Play the Game is his first book.
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Copyright © 2019 by Edward W. Stack
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First Scribner hardcover edition October 2019
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Interior design by Erich Hobbing
Jacket photograph copyright © 2019 Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Photographs courtesy of the Stack Family and Dick’s Sporting Goods
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Stack, Ed (Edward W.), author.
Title: It’s how we play the game : build a business, take a stand, make a difference / Ed Stack.
Description: New York : Scribner, [2019]
Identifiers: LCCN 2019013286| ISBN 9781982116910 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781982116927 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781508296676 (compact disk)
Subjects: LCSH: Stack, Ed (Edward W.) | Dick’s Sporting Goods. | Sporting goods industry—United States. | Businesspeople—United States—Biography. | Social responsibility of business.
Classification: LCC HD9992.U54 D537 2019 | DDC 381/.456887092 [B]—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019013286
ISBN 978-1-9821-1691-0
ISBN 978-1-9821-1693-4 (ebook)
Note to Readers: This book is a memoir. It reflects the author’s present recollections of his experience over a period of years. Dialogue has been reconstructed from the author’s memory to capture the essence of conversations that transpired.
