Stan Hart, father of current owner Bob Hart, went to work for Kristol as a stock boy in 1942 to earn money because his father had left the family. In 1950, Al’s began to sell sporting goods and in 1967 Stan Hart and Izzy Weiner, who had been working at Al’s since 1940, purchased the business.

Bob Hart started working at Al’s in 1968 part-time at 12-years old (don’t tell anyone about that age!) and after graduating from George Washington University with a degree in business in 1978 came to work full-time after college. In 1984 he purchased Weiner’s share of the business and he and his father continued as partners for 35 years. Stan Hart continued working until three months before he passed away in March of 2019 after working at Al’s for 77 years.

Bob Hart has been owner since 2019 … and this is his story.

Secret to lasting 90 years … “I believe our longevity has been because we try to have the newest products that customers want.”

Another secret … “We have also had long-term and terrific employees. Ed Knapper was here for 48 years before retiring in 2018. John Anselmi worked here for 40 years and he retired in 2014. We had three other people working here for 30 years each. We do have one employee here 35 years and another here 26 years and a bookkeeper and my assistant have been here for 32 years.”

Keeping the customer satisfied … “Having great employees and working very hard has helped us stay in business. We hear from customers a lot that we take great care of them and have the right products. The retail customers tell us they go to the large stores and can’t find the product they are looking for so they come to Al’s. In our team area customers like our service and like that we are local and their products don’t have to be shipped from our competition’s main locations.”

Celebrating 90 years … “The 90th anniversary celebration (in March) was very nice. We received 25 products from vendors, local restaurants and bowling alleys that customers signed up to win. We also had vendors that gave us knit and baseball hats with ‘Al’s’ on them that we gave away when customers purchased items. A local radio station did a lot of announcements about the anniversary and on Friday they broadcasted at Al’s for three hours. A Philadelphia station(CBS 10) did a report on the news.”

The current Al’s home … “Al’s started out at 210 Market Street in Wilmington in 1935. The city wanted one of our three buildings to build a garage next to us, so they took our three buildings and we got the first floor of the garage (17,000-square feet). We were given a plain building and had to fix it up with flooring, lights, heating and air conditioning and fixtures. It was a great move for us 18 years ago.”

Entering the team business ... “When we started doing the team business we just did it with customers coming into the store to buy uniforms and equipment. After a few years we hired salespeople to sell to schools on the road.”

The changing team game … “In the beginning a lot of team uniform reps went to schools with our salesperson to help sell uniforms. We don’t see as many company salespeople come in to show us new uniforms as we used to see. A lot of the wholesale companies have merged, not making as much selection as before. Our area doesn’t have as much local competition as we used to. We do compete against larger out-of-town companies, but as I said before our customers need the products fast and don’t want to pay their freight.”

The Team Insight connection … “Your writer, Mike May, used to call Ed Knapper until he retired. I think he calls me because I have a lot of sporting goods knowledge from all my years. I am always nice to him.”

Bob’s typical day … “I come to work at 9 a.m., do the morning check out and run reports. I spend time most days ordering products we need. A lot of days that employees call out I must cover for them. Other things I do is getting our employees payroll ready for paychecks, speak on the phone to companies trying to sell us new  products. I check the invoices that my bookkeeper checks and make sure we got the correct prices and dating terms. I set up price sheets for team items with different prices depending on the amount customer purchases. I leave at 6 p.m.

And then … “Unfortunately I have to take work home at night. When I turned 60 I tried not to take work home, but I can’t always get done what I need at work.”

Favorite part of the job … “Interacting with customers that I have known for 56 years.

Least favorite … “Trying to get all my employees to get along like family.”

The next generation … “My family doesn’t have interest in the business. My son, Shane, worked here for three years after college, but decided this is not what he wants to do. My daughter Jenn is a graphic designer and is doing well. I am at my age where I am hoping I don’t have to work as many hours and enjoy my life. Because Al’s has been in business for 90 years and been successful I would like the business to continue.”

The next 90 years … “The next 90 years will not have me at Al’s for sure. Let’s hope that they continue to do well.”