About Us:
Beaver Sports is a locally owned and operated business, established by the Jim Whisenhant family in 1972. That first year the store was limited to selling canoes in the garage of their home on Wolf Run (now the Wolf Run Dessert and Dinner House). The following year, land with two small buildings was purchased and the business was established at 2400 College Road. Winter store hours in those early days were limited to weekday evenings and eight hours on Saturdays. Summer store hours were extended to eight hours for six days a week. Jim was the cross-country ski coach at Lathrop High School at the time and was finding it difficult to find appropriate equipment for his team, so in search of quality gear, Beaver Sports sold skis in the winter and canoes in the summer. Business grew rapidly and within two years there was enough store activity to warrant full store hours. Small building additions were added each summer and by 1984, a total of 5,000 square feet were in use with the inventory packed into every corner. December 1987 brought another big step in Beaver Sports history. The busy store moved into a new 18,000 square foot building at its present location. The 17,000 square foot warehouse behind the building was bought in1990. From the beginning, Beaver Sports has focused its efforts on providing quality merchandise and service. A distinct effort is made to avoid competing with mass-merchandisers in the lower quality market. The success of Beaver Sports is attributed to its knowledgeable, service oriented staff, who have always been active in both sports and the community.
