Robert E. Griffin, Longtime Escalade CEO and Chairman, Has Passed Away at Age 89

He Built the Foundation and Set the Course for Escalade's Success and Leaves his Legacy as a Sporting Goods Visionary, Proponent of Education, and Advocate for a Healthy Active Lifestyle

EVANSVILLE, IN / ACCESSWIRE / April 17, 2024 / Robert E. Griffin, former CEO and Chairman of Escalade, Inc. passed away in St. George, Utah, surrounded by his family on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the age of 89.

Foto: Accesswire

Mr. Griffin was instrumental in transforming Escalade into the highly regarded sporting goods and recreation products company that it is today. Leading Escalade for fifty-three years in various roles, and later as unpaid advisor to anyone seeking his wise counsel, Griffin recognized the importance of diversifying the company and product offerings from an established archery-equipment business to a multi-category industry leader. During Bob's steady and visionary leadership, the company grew its sporting goods business from sales of $800,000 in 1962 to sales of $155,000,000 in 2015. Griffin commented on Escalade's success: "We learned early on that the demand for sporting goods is very seasonal, and the popularity of certain items runs in cycles. There are ups and downs you can't control, so we began broadening our product base to make sure that all of our eggs were not in one basket." Escalade's reputation for quality products, leading brands, dedicated employees, and sound business practices stems from his vision, ethics, and leadership.

Griffin was a humble, generous, and faithful friend who maintained close relationships throughout his life. He was a life-long learner who balanced his daily rituals with calculated risk-taking and certitude. One of Bob's mottos was "Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something." His successes outweighed his failures.

"Without Bob Griffin none of us would be here today. I cannot begin to recount the many contributions Bob made to our company, to our industry, and to our communities. He was a modern-day renaissance man: visionary, businessman, teacher, philanthropist, athlete," says Escalade Sports CEO & President Walt Glazer.

Griffin, born and raised in East St. Louis, Illinois, trained in the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps at the University of Notre Dame, where he earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1957. After serving as an officer in the Navy's Civil Engineer Corps, Bob went on to earn a Master of Business Administration from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 1960. Following graduation, Griffin aspired to work for a company in which he could develop an ownership stake. Bob placed a small advertisement in the Wall Street Journal seeking an opportunity and stating, "equity ownership is more important than salary." That ad piqued the interest of Robert Orr, future Indiana Governor, who was an early venture capitalist and investor in Evansville; the two hit it off right away. In 1962, Griffin had the opportunity to "live what he talked about" when he and a group of investors, including Orr, purchased Indian Archery and Toy Company. In 1973, Escalade, Inc. was formed with The Williams Manufacturing Company merger, and Griffin rolled his ownership stake into this new company, which began trading on the NASDAQ that year. He was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Escalade in 1976 and continued in that role until 1999. He retired as Chairman of the Board in 2015. After retiring, Bob maintained his iconic office overlooking Maxwell Avenue and continued to greet everyone by name with a hospitable "Good Morning."