The Jet

In business, you often hear ‘it’s not what you know but who you know,’ and when it came to Pro Athlete’s early days and the transition online, that couldn’t be more true. Steve Warger was responsible for Pro Athlete’s first sponsorship and introduced the retail store to hundreds of local athletes and their parents through the Pro Athlete Jets Football Organization. The ‘Jet bond’ was strong and whatever Pro Athlete needed, Steve was there to offer his support (with an army of enthusiastic youth football players in tow). In 1998, Steve made an introduction that would forever change Pro Athlete’s business. He put Scott Hedrick in contact with two future Hall of Famers - Brian and Mike Kearns - to help build a website for the business. In doing so, Steve helped to usher in Pro Athlete’s e-commerce boom.