OT: Are there any non-bigbox sporting goods stores anymore?

[JMORC2003]

I believe there is a lacrosse store and a running store in Westfield.

 

[zappaa]

I got my first pair of skates at Gerry Cosby’s in Princeton. Probably late 80s. As a young hockey nut, I could have spent all day in there looking at gear. I remember the basement was just all sticks. It was like Heaven. I took a lot of pride in having the Cosby’s sticker on the bottom on my skates.
Years and years later I went to the NYC shop and even the used gear was more expensive than brand new on the internet. Not surprised if it didn’t last much longer.

Cosby under The Garden.
You could buy the Rangers Northland Ratelle stick there.
You can tell if someone payed real hockey because they remember every piece of equipment they used.

 

[Section124]

Any old farts on here who played some serious hockey in 70s and 80s is aware of Paragon Sports in NY.
I think it’s still there.
We used to go in and buy Victoriaville and Titan sticks by the box at a tremendous discount.
Tacks and Supremes were half the price of what you’d pay in a skate shop

I got my first Rangers jersey there. A Ron Greschner jersey when they were all custom.

 

[colbert17]

Solomons Sporting Goods in Elizabeth was a popular go-to-place If you grew up in Union County during the 60's and 70's,

Solomon's was the big place with the bonus of Kolkler's Toy Store right across the street. It was a bonus to wait for the 30 or 24 buses to go back to the Port on the corner because the bus stop was right in front of Kolkler's.
further south on Elizabeth Ave. was Ross Sporting Goods.

 

[Section124]

Solomon's was the big place with the bonus of Kolkler's Toy Store right across the street. It was a bonus to wait for the 30 or 24 buses to go back to the Port on the corner because the bus stop was right in front of Kolkler's.
further south on Elizabeth Ave. was Ross Sporting Goods.

We used to go to Solomon's and Kolker's all the time. Was a sad day when Solomon's closed. Rumor was the owner had a gambling problem. I cleaned up on all the old NFL jersey's. Still have them in a box in the attic.

 

[29PAS]

Any old farts on here who played some serious hockey in 70s and 80s is aware of Paragon Sports in NY.
I think it’s still there.
We used to go in and buy Victoriaville and Titan sticks by the box at a tremendous discount.
Tacks and Supremes were half the price of what you’d pay in a skate shop

Paragon is still there and open, but they've closed off the upper and basement level areas at the moment.

 

[phlop87]

When my kids were younger and involved in different sports we used Main Street Sports in Woodbridge and leisure sports in Iselin. At the time they both had good selections an knowledgeable staff. A bit more expensive but we like to support local businesses

 

[tom1944]

When my kids were younger and involved in different sports we used Main Street Sports in Woodbridge and leisure sports in Iselin. At the time they both had good selections an knowledgeable staff. A bit more expensive but we like to support local businesses

We used to go to Leisure Unlimited when it was owned by Congressman Smiths father

 

[Caliknight]

Ramsey Outdoor store is still around. It has changed a lot over the years. It used to be a good size sporting goods store with an emphasis on hunting and fishing. It was very similar to Effingers. Now it has a completely high end feel. It's like a Rodeo Drive showroom. Completely high end stuff. Brands you never heard of but are astronomically expensive. I was looking for a winter coat last winter, saw a coat that looked nice. Never heard of the brand, looked at the price and it was $898. For a winter coat that seemed to be made out of the same materials as a good coat like a Northface etc. I think the Pentagon or NASA would be shocked by that

There are for golf.

 

[robcac26]

Route 18 Sports in East Brunswick.
Also, does Play it Again Sports still exist?

I thought they shut down ages ago but I bought a set of roller hockey wheels from a Play it Again in Nashville a year ago. I just went to their website and apparently there is only one left in NJ, it's in Deptford.

Any old farts on here who played some serious hockey in 70s and 80s is aware of Paragon Sports in NY.
I think it’s still there.
We used to go in and buy Victoriaville and Titan sticks by the box at a tremendous discount.
Tacks and Supremes were half the price of what you’d pay in a skate shop

Nothing like walking into a pro shop and seeing a whole wall of sticks. My first job was at the pro shop in the Woodbridge Community Center. Worked there through college until the store shut down a year or so later. The annoying thing about working at a small shop is a lot of people (usually the goombah Rangers fans from Staten Island) think they can haggle the prices. I always wanted to tell them, "I was about to ask if you wanted to pay more, but since you don't, let's just agree on the price that is on the sticker."

 

[koleszar]

All the high schools in Middlesex County used to order their jerseys and equipment from Effingers. It was a great store.

Somerset County also. I practically lived in that place as a kid. Used to ride our bikes there every week to see what fishing lures we could buy or just look at the sporting goods for hours.

Effinger's was a concept before it's time and a reason it lasted so long. If you lived in any of the surrounding counties Effinger's was the place you went for sporting goods. I died a little bit inside when I heard once again a childhood memory would become condominiums. Just like Bowcraft.

 

[fsg2]

Somerset County also. I practically lived in that place as a kid. Used to ride our bikes there every week to see what fishing lures we could buy or just look at the sporting goods for hours.

Effinger's was a concept before it's time and a reason it lasted so long. If you lived in any of the surrounding counties Effinger's was the place you went for sporting goods. I died a little bit inside when I heard once again a childhood memory would become condominiums. Just like Bowcraft.

Like Sports Authority and Cabelas rolled into one. Great shop.

 

[sunsetregret]

Somerset County also. I practically lived in that place as a kid. Used to ride our bikes there every week to see what fishing lures we could buy or just look at the sporting goods for hours.

Effinger's was a concept before it's time and a reason it lasted so long. If you lived in any of the surrounding counties Effinger's was the place you went for sporting goods. I died a little bit inside when I heard once again a childhood memory would become condominiums. Just like Bowcraft.

Bowcraft is gone too?

 

[koleszar]

Bowcraft is gone too?

Yup a friend who still lives in the area sent me pictures. They just finished taking it down this month. They're putting in low income townhouses and apartments.

 

[fsg2]

Yup a friend who still lives in the area sent me pictures. They just finished taking it down this month. They're putting in low income townhouses and apartments.

Didn't it close years ago?

Loved the place but surprised it lasted as long as it did. A cool remnant of times past.

 

[tom1944]

Didn't it close years ago?

Loved the place but surprised it lasted as long as it did. A cool remnant of times past.

It did.

Takes a long time to build in NJ

 

[koleszar]

Didn't it close years ago?

Loved the place but surprised it lasted as long as it did. A cool remnant of times past.

Really don't know when it closed, a friend had sent me the pictures of it being torn down. It's just sad to see these places go. Like the little league field I played on is now a ShopRite.

 

[RUsince52]

Ray's and Greenbrook were the two places to miniature golf when we were kids. Then we started playing pitch n putt at Tara Greens in Somerset. A really cheap day of golf for a kid. Ray's is one of the few courses that had two color rugs on each hole. Really cool.

 

[mikemarc1]

My family owned a sporting goods store in Boonton for three generations. My father had to shut it down in 1995 thanks to the big box stores taking over. Lots of great memories of that place,

 

[RU from Jersey]

Cowan's on Main St in Hackensack always seemed to have what you needed.

 

[JMORC2003]

Ramsey Outdoor store is still around. It has changed a lot over the years. It used to be a good size sporting goods store with an emphasis on hunting and fishing. It was very similar to Effingers. Now it has a completely high end feel. It's like a Rodeo Drive showroom. Completely high end stuff. Brands you never heard of but are astronomically expensive. I was looking for a winter coat last winter, saw a coat that looked nice. Never heard of the brand, looked at the price and it was $898. For a winter coat that seemed to be made out of the same materials as a good coat like a Northface etc. I think the Pentagon or NASA would be shocked by that

Wasn’t Ramsey Outdoor the place that got busted out when the owner couldn’t pay back his gambling debt to Tony in the Sopranos? Sad storyline, but love Tony’s rationalization that it was his livelihood and like owning a restaurant and not refusing to serve another plate of fettuccini to some “fat f**k eating himself to death.”