Taylor Sporting Goods • Taylor

Taylor Sporting Goods • Taylor

Written by Beth Wade Friday, 13 June 2008

Dean Threadgill was in high school in 1981 when his brother-in-law, sister and brother opened Taylor Sporting Goods.

He worked in the shop while still in school. “My brother-in-law was the president of Taylor Little League, and he was tired of having to go to Austin every time he needed supplies,” Threadgill said. “That was way before there was stuff in Round Rock.”

Threadgill bought his brother out in 1986 to become co-owner, and in 2000 his sister and brother-in-law sold their half of the business to him.

“From the first day it opened, I wanted to own it,” he said. “I just didn’t have any money. When I got the chance to buy out my brother, it was a dream come true.”

The shop was originally located across from Taylor High School, but moved downtown in 2001, which was a goal for Threadgill, whose family has owned businesses in downtown before, he said. His mother operated a restaurant for 20 years, his father ran a bowling alley and his grandfather owned a tire store downtown in the 1920s.

“If your business is on the north end of town where it is growing, people think it is dumb to move downtown,” Threadgill said, “but it has been great for us. The business has grown every year we’ve been down here.”

With streetscape improvements to Main Street, Threadgill said he expects business to pick up.

Baseball season, which started in early April, is Taylor Sporting Goods’ busiest time, he said. The store is one of few locally to stock Southland baseball pants and Louisville Slugger baseball bats.

Along with the Taylor Ducks’ athletes and supporters, Threadgill serves the surrounding communities of Thrall, Elgin, Hutto and Thorndale.

“About half of my business is from out of Taylor,” Threadgill said. “I’m proud of that. There are other places people could go, but they come here.”

Threadgill also operates an eBay store online and will special order any sporting item that he does not have in stock.

According to Threadgill’s count, the store has sold more than 25,000 Taylor Duck T-shirts in the last 27 years. He updates the count online as often as he can.

Beyond sporting goods, Threadgill sells a large selection of Taylor Duck and surrounding school districts’ merchandise, including domino sets and letter-jacket patches. The store also has a selection of screen printing and embroidery options for teams and businesses.

Threadgill has a selection of athletic shoes and helps businesses with logos and apparel.

“I am fortunate in that I don’t dread coming to work every day,” he said. “It is stressful owning a small business, but I don’t think there is anywhere else I would want to be.”

Wrap ‘N Ship

When Harlan Hays sold Hays Pharmacy, about the same time CVS and Walgreens opened in Taylor, he sold his Wrap ‘N’ Ship business to Taylor Sporting Goods.

“I thought someone should keep the shipping business in downtown Taylor,” said Dean Threadgill, Taylor Sporting Goods owner.

Wrap ‘N’ Ship is a drop-off location for Fed-Ex and UPS. Individuals can drop off and pick up items at the store, rather than at home.

For more information on Wrap ‘N’ Ship, call Taylor Sporting Goods at 352-8964.

Taylor Sporting Goods, 305 N. Main St., 352-8964