Alvin Galczenski, Sr., Founder of Wayne Sporting Goods

In 1955, Alvin Galczenski Sr. founded Wayne Sporting Goods Co. Inc. Alvin initially had been involved with the design and manufacture of team uniforms. Quickly, he made the decision to expand his business into a full service sporting goods store, serving his loyal customers by adding clothing and sneaker lines into his rapidly expanding business

The first site of WSG was in Rosemont in a building no longer standing today. You remember this site as the home of Floyd’s Bowling Alley, presently the site of the CVS in Rosemont. After two years at this location, Al Sr. moved a few miles up the road to North Wayne Avenue in Wayne, in the building currently occupied by Farnan’s Jewelers. This was WSG’s home for only a few years until the building was unable to provide adequate space for the ever-evolving business. WSG moved to its current location on Lancaster Avenue, where the Galczenski family has been proudly serving the community for the last 45 years. With the move to the larger storefront, Al Sr. sought and received a commitment from his son Roger to join the family business. Roger has been responsible for WSG’s day to day operations for the last 30 years, and his commitment to the business has helped WSG grow substantially into a full service sporting goods company.

Because of increasing retail and outside sales, Al Sr. asked his other son Al Jr. to also join WSG. Around the same time Bernie Connor joined WSG and was a vital part of WSG’s success for over 25 years. Bernie was the director of team sales and oversaw the daily team orders until he passed away in late 2004. He is sadly missed by his good friends at WSG and loyal customers.

In the late 90’s, Al Jr. decided to retire from the sporting goods business. Roger enlisted the help of his friend, Jack Hoopes, to take WSG to the next level. With this new partnership, WSG was able to renovate and expand the retail floor space to over 8,000 square feet, almost doubling its previous size.

Every aspect has been improved in the renovated store, from the displays and fixtures to the quality, quantity and overall selection of merchandise. With this newly designed space, Roger’s wife Karen took over the women’s department and has taken it to new levels. Roger’s oldest son Steve also joined WSG in 2001 and currently overseas much of the retail and purchasing divisions. Steve is the third generation in the Galczenski family to be part of WSG.

In 2007, WSG expanded their facilities to offer in-house embroidery and film printing. This has allowed them to offer the highest levels of service to their retail, team and corporate accounts. WSG looks forward to continuing their growth and commitment to offer unparalleled products to their customers.

The future of Wayne Sporting Goods looks very bright because the principles that the business was founded on over 50 years ago are still alive today. We look forward to the next 50 years!