For more than four decades, Al Smith provided families with a full line of equipment and products in his Oak Park sporting goods store. Family members said his shelves were always stocked with the day’s top-of-the-line name brands that continually changed to meet his customers’ needs.
“Al was a successful businessman in Oak Park for many years, but the real story behind his shop is that he was a friend to so many,” said his brother John. “For him it was never about the merchandise he sold, but rather the relationships he formed with his customers.”
Mr. Smith, 72, of Oak Park, the owner of Al Smith’s Sport & Ski Shop in Oak Park, died of cancer Saturday, Nov. 29, in West Suburban Hospital in Oak Park.
In November 1957, Mr. Smith opened his store under the name Al Smith’s Golf and Tennis Shop, in the hope of being part of the Christmas business rush in downtown Oak Park. Family members recalled that it was in the glory days of golf and tennis, when the area produced several championship golfers and the Oak Park/River Forest Country Club hosted clay court professional tennis tournaments.
As times and tastes changed, Mr. Smith began selling ski equipment and clothing for his customers, who were increasingly spending their vacations at ski resorts in places like Aspen and Lake Tahoe. He carried a full-line of cross-country and downhill skis, continually updating his selection with the latest products and brands.
In the early 1980s, Mr. Smith expanded his retail operation with the purchase of Barnard’s Cycle Shop, initially located on Marion Street, which was later merged with his other shop in a new store on Harlem Avenue. There, along with his other sporting goods, he sold recreational and racing bikes and equipment and did repairs for nearly two decades, until the store’s closing three years ago.
“Al was always so helpful, a real hands-on merchant, who also happened to be a very nice man,” said Cathy Ellenbogen of Oak Park. “We purchased at least two of my son’s bikes at his store, and I can’t tell you how many times we’d wind up in his shop just browsing and checking out what’s new on the market.”
Over the years, Mr. Smith’s customer list also included some famous people, such as the 1970s rocker Alice Cooper and radio personality Paul Harvey. But family members said it was his regular customers, the ones he had befriended and called by their first name, who delighted him the most.
A few years ago, in an interview with a local newspaper, Mr. Smith was quoted as saying, “I’ve always enjoyed this business, because you’re selling pleasure and fun.”
Other survivors include another brother, Philip Hugh, and many nieces and nephews.
Services have been held.
