Old Chester, PA: Business: Sporting Goods

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Old Chester, PA: Business

Sporting Goods

Picture	Business Name	Location	Owner/Operator	Dates of Operation	Comments:
	Ace	near Sears		1950's, 1960's	"Also, there was old gentleman that sold bowling balls at Ace which was located by Sears. That is where all the kids got their Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers in the 50's and 60's." Frank Soscia, sosc111@home
Photo courtesy of Bill Webster, New York, NY	Birney's Birch Beer & Pool Room	619 Edgmont Ave.
	Briggs Sporting Goods	627 Welsh St. (1915, 1917) 7th & Welsh St. (near the Welsh Restaurant)	Thomas L. Briggs	? - 1915, 1917 - ?	Thanks to Frank Soscia, sosc111@home "Sporting goods, Indian motorcycle agent" Thanks also to their ads in 1915 & 1917 Chester High annuals, courtesy of Janet Andrews Moulder, Wilmington, DE
	L&H Sporting Goods	7th St.	Larry & Harry Goldstein ? Lou & Hy Goldstein ?	- 1960's -	"I worked during high school at L&H Sporting Goods for Harry and Larry Goldstein." Debbie Clayton, dwiley8094@aol.com "L&H were the initials of the owners Lou and Hy Goldstein. Harry Goldstein was a brother but was not an owner, He was the manager of the Chester store. "L&H started as an army and navy surplus store on 3rd street near the old "Voice of Chester" [WVCH] radio station, Harry was the manager then as well. My brother and I would go there with our Dad to get our fishing and hunting gear, this was in the early to mid 50's. L&H did well and in the late 50's ,they built a new store on 7th street near the "State" movie theater. They also had stores in Norristown Pa. and Wilm,Del. "I believe I started to work for L&H in late 1959, then in 1960 and maybe some of 1961 (it has been a long time ago). This was of course after school and Saturdays .I also worked for the Sandrose Merchant Co. (home of the "Trophy Kings ") which was owned by the Goldstein's and named after their daughters, Sandy and Rose ( I would go from one to the other ) and was located (I think) at 5th and Penn streets. It was their main supply warehouse and they also built trophies there. There may have been four brothers, I am not sure anymore, but I don't remember any of them with the name Larry (could be!)" Thanks to Ron Stephens, Oxford, PA "Joe & Tybee Goldstein were my neighbors in Garden City on Walnut Road. We didn't have money for a swimming pool so we bought a 20 man life raft from Joe and filled it with water, we had a ball with it. Thanks for the memories," Larry Bradley, Exton, PA
	Reese-Bzxter	7th & Edgmont & Welsh St. (in old YMCA building)	Al Baxter Bill Reese	early 1940's - late 1940's	"One of the largest sporting goods stores in Chester for many years was the Reese-Baxter Co., located in the old YMCA building at the triangle of 7th St, Edgemont Ave and Welsh St, opposite the Sapovits newstand...Al Baxter and Bill Reese founded this store in the early 40's...I worked there as a stock boy, part-time while at CHS from 1944 thru 1947. A man named John Bellis was the manager (he was very active in the Chester Optimist Club; ran their annual plays for many years)...later, Reese Baxter moved up the street to 816 Edgemont, and sometime in the late 40's, they split up - Bill Reese kept the business going for some time after that (I bowled on his team in the Chester Minor League at Penn Recreation in 1949, shot a 264 one lucky night!) Bax ran his own wholesale sporting goods firm up on Walnut street for several years, then he retired. Apparently he died when I was in the Navy (1950-54) because I spoke to his wife after I came back and she told me he had passed on. Bax was active in the Chester Rotary Club for years and resided on Harvard Ave. In Swarthmore,. He was a very fine gentleman in every way and the kind of boss all young guys growing up should have." Thanks to Roy Campbell
	Bill Reese Sporting Goods Store	816 Edgmont Ave.		? - 1950 - ?
	Hash Rosenberg	1000 block of Kerlin St. 1300 block of Kerlin St. 24th St., Upland	Hash Rosenberg		"My husband bought sporting goods for the teams he coached, such as Lamokin AC and the Chester Hornets from Hash Rosenberg who sold goods from his home in the 1000 block of Kerlin Street, then from the 1300 block of Kerlin Street, and finally to 24th Street, Upland, Pa" Thanks to Pat, vis12321@home.com
	Smed's Sporting Goods	800 block of Edgmont Ave. (next to Moskowitz Furniture Store)	George Smedley	1950's, 1960's	"They sold uniforms and jackets for the local teams, fresh roasted peanuts (they got in Philadelphia) and tickets to various sporting events." Thanks to Harry Smedley, Sr., son, and his daughter, Denise McGowan, leo.mcgowan@worldnet.att.net

If you have any information and or pictures that you would like to contribute about any businesses in Chester, please forward it to john@oldchesterpa.com

This page last updated 02/11/06