MOUNT PROSPECT, IL, April 6, 2011 – The Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame Committee announced today that it has elected one retailer and two manufacturers, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame next May. Jim Baugh, Wilson Sporting Goods Co.; Tom Raynor, Fleet Feet, Inc.; and Ted Stahl, GroupeStahl, will be honored at induction ceremonies Tuesday evening, May 3, 2011, during the 47th Annual NSGA Management Conference & 13th Annual Team Dealer Summit, to be held at Loews Ventana Canyon in Tucson, Ariz.
“We are proud to announce the Hall of Fame Class of 2011 because of the passion and dedication they brought to the sporting goods industry,” said NSGA Hall of Fame Committee Chairman Bob Dickman, general manager of the Sport Supply Group Team Dealer Division. “Election to the Hall of Fame is the highest honor one can achieve in the sporting goods industry, and these inductees are worthy of that distinction.”
Since 1956, the sporting goods industry has honored its pioneers, innovators and leaders, and the election of the 2011 inductees brings the total number of Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Famers to 150. The Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame induction ceremony is co-sponsored by GE Money; Messe München GmbH (ISPO); Mizuno USA; New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc.; and W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
Ted Stahl
GroupeSTAHL
Ted Stahl is the executive chairman of GroupeSTAHL, an international group of companies dedicated to providing a wide range of alternatives in garment decoration, specializing in heat printing methods. GroupeSTAHL is both a manufacturer as well as a provider of garment decoration services.
Stahl is a well-known industry veteran with more than 40 years’ experience in all aspects of apparel graphics, from manufacturing and marketing, to product design and retail operations.
Highly regarded by his peers as an industry pioneer and known as a visionary, Stahl has been awarded many patents for innovations in the world of garment decorating, including Thermo-FILM®, the world’s most popular material for numbers and letters, and the revolutionary Hotronix® heat press. GroupeSTAHL recently introduced the Hotronix® Fusion™, the world’s first touch-screen heat press designed as a combination swinger and draw press.
Stahl has played a major role in bringing sportswear graphics into the computer era, with the introduction of high-tech digital imprinting products, including CAD-CUT® materials, Drawmate™ software and today’s CADWorxlive.com, a free online art creation website. Stahl also introduced CAD-PRINTZ® full color transfers to the industry, a service that is growing in popularity with embroiderers and screen printers.
Equally innovative in the marketing realm, Stahl is the author of Ted’s Guerilla Marketing Tips, a book that presents ingenious ways for retailers to boost their volume of imprinting services through creative selling and promotions.
His is the first company to take the concept of cutting graphics for jerseys on-demand mainstream, with CAD-CUT® technology and its line of patented CAD-CUT® materials, which allows sporting goods stores to cut and apply their own custom player names, numbers and logos in-house, on-demand.
Among his inventions are water-jet technology, for custom cutting twill, and player name and number sets, a fast way to add individual player names and numbers to jerseys.
He is a member of the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association and founded an organization that preserves, restores and exhibits specific vintage vehicles of the 20th century for educational purposes.
About NSGA:
NSGA, which has served the sporting goods industry since 1929, supports its members’ efforts to be more profitable and advocates on their behalf. NSGA organizes and hosts the annual NSGA Management Conference & Team Dealer Summit, the sporting goods industry’s premier educational and networking event (Next: May 1-4, 2011, at Loews Ventana Canyon, Tucson, Ariz.).
For more information on NSGA member services, visit the Association home page (www.nsga.org); call Darlene Plunkett at NSGA, (847) 296-6742, Ext. 131; e-mail: dplunkett@nsga.org; or fax (847) 391-9827.
