ST. LOUIS — There's a big chance that if you played sports in or near St. Louis you stopped at Johnny Mac's Sporting Goods store.
And while the local teams may have changed, for 51 years, the store remained the same.
"This used to be an old Danny Donut shop that we converted into the first sporting goods store, Johnny Mac's, and that's where we started 51 years ago," said Bob McArthur, one of Johnny Mac's five sons, and the owner of his St. Louis staple, Johnny Mac's sporting goods.
"We have a lot of good things to have memories about for all the people and the customers and all the years they supported us."
They are known for their local team apparel as well as the big leagues.
"We always have catered to the local teams, professionals, the Cardinals, the St. Louis Lambs," Bob said jokingly.
But after 51 years of selling bats, helmets, and gloves, Bob is selling Johnny Mac's.
The buyer? BSN, a company that bills itself as the largest distributor of team sports apparel and equipment in the United States.
"I think it's the same thing that a lot of retailers are saying today, my message to the consumer is that you're basically getting what you asked for," said McArthur.
But Cole Lawrence is old school. The 9-year-old still in love with the touch and feel of being in a store, like Johnny's.
"If you ever get a stick you can hold it and see what the weight is and you can't really do that online."
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A boy with many skills, Cole plays baseball and hockey.
"If we didn't have like a Johnny Mac's here then I probably wouldn't have gotten my first skate."
It's the end of an era, that Bob believes is like the end of the game.
Even if you win or lose, there's always next season.
"We know just like with fashion, wait long enough and it will come back around and I do believe that with these type of stores they'll realize just how much they miss it."
We're told the store will close when all of the items are gone. They think that will be in about 90 days.