Jim Easton

When I first started Toronto Hockey Repair, I nailed a small "Toronto Hockey Repair" sign to the porch of the house. Alcan Aluminum was across the street. Alcan Aluminum was located in the Junction community that now rediscovered its history. Yet, sadly, some communities promote feelings of self-doubt and isolation, it was not the case with the Junction Community. My first customers were the plant workers from Alcan Aluminum. It was staggering how much processed aluminum they shipped to the United States for industrial and sporting goods.

Doug Easton was born September 21st, 1907 in Oakland California. At the age 17 he was driving trucks part time and allocating resources by crafting bows and arrows. Doug was an inventive man and began using aluminum to manufacture bows and arrows. In fact, his company dominated the market with 85% market share in 1946. Of course there were some problems with the scarcity of aluminum during World War II. However after the war, aluminum became plentiful and Doug resumed his business.

In 1960, Doug’s son Jim Easton joined the company and achieved a larger work force that expanded and developed an aluminum baseball bat. Even though Jim did not invent the aluminum bat, he is attributed with developing the technology for making aluminum bats viable for the mass consumers. In 1976, Jim ventured into making tennis rackets and subsequently in 1981 began making aluminum hockey sticks.

Many of the traditional wood manufacturers joined together in attempt to banned aluminum sticks. However, these sticks were eventually approved for use in the NHL. Wood manufacturers scrambled in attempt to replicate and develop their own aluminum hockey sticks. However, Easton had a leg up on their competition by experimenting with new composite materials. Easton was not just an aluminum company it was a sporting goods manufacturer. Easton was the first company that built the synergy between baseball and hockey as a year long revenue stream.

Bauer Performance Group purchased Easton Baseball & Softball for $330 million from Easton Bell Sports. Bauer Performance Group assumed the strategic acquisition would give them consistent revenue streams throughout the fiscal year. Bauer Performance Group hoped to reduce its $450 million secured loans with proceeds from public offering of equity securities. Unfortunately, after a few short years, Bauer Performance Group was accused of falsifying revenues and net income. They ended up putting out more product than the market can handle while the hockey market in the United State and Canada remained remarkably stagnant.

Jim Easton ran a tight ship and the contributions Easton made to the sporting goods industry has been extraordinary. Jim was taught by his father to be frugal and keep his work force working at all cost. Easton initially faced challenges in gaining acceptance for their hockey products, however when Brett Hull started using Easton sticks in the late 1980’s that was the turning point for Easton Hockey. Jim’s prowess beat out the competition by signing Wayne Gretzky to a 7-year $2 million deal with Easton, providing the company with significant credibility. Easton was also the first company to establish a one-piece composite hockey skate which CCM eventually replicated and uses today in their high end skates.

Jim passed away December 4th, 2023 at the age of 88. He was a great American industrialist who became resourceful in keeping his work force working. He is a true legend in the sporting goods industry, developing how aluminum evolved and is used in recreational sports. Jim rests in peace, next to his father and mother. My deepest condolences to his family.