Mountain Brook Sporting Goods: Business Spotlight

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Photo by Mia Bass

Mountain Brook Sporting Goods

Rick Morrow, Assistant Julia Holt and Owner Mike Morrison in Mountain Brook Sporting Goods.

If you’ve watched a little girl in a Mountain Brook Spartans cheerleading uniform or been to a little league game recently, you’ve probably seen Mountain Brook Sporting Goods’ merchandise put to use. Pride in the Spartans is something you can feel from stepping in the store, and it’s something that is equally important to owner Mike Morrison.

“Everyone in Mountain Brook makes it possible,” he said.

Mountain Brook Sporting Goods has called their location on Church Street home since 1990 when Dave Arnold opened the business. Morrison bought the store in 2003.  Morrison taught and coached at Mountain Brook High School in the late 1970s, then spent 25 years in pharmaceutical sales before taking over Mountain Brook Sporting Goods.

“We are so appreciative of our Mountain Brook family,” Morrison said, “They could choose to shop anywhere, and we want to give them a reason to come here.” That’s where Morrison’s custom orders come in. He says that’s just one of the benefits of having a small shop. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, they will work to fit the needs of their customers. They also offer screen printing, custom design and embroidery.

Mountain Brook Sporting Goods offers a wide variety of items for Mountain Brook sports fans like game day chairs, blankets and sweatshirts. They provide seat cushions for Friday night games, fans to keep you cool for sticky August games and flags to support your team. They also sell cheerleading uniforms, jerseys and other gear for Alabama and Auburn fans to set you up for every Saturday in the fall.

Backpacks and other bags for sports equipment are sold and can be monogrammed. Nike items, golf and fishing shirts are always available as well as tennis shoes and cleats.

One of Morrison’s associates, Rick Morrow, is a former football and basketball player for Arkansas who has been a large asset to the store, especially when it comes to equipment fitting. They sell lacrosse gear, football equipment, tennis racquets, baseball bats and lesser known items and equipment.

In 2007, Morrison also opened the Team Store in Altadena Square. Dave Arnold, the original owner, runs the team store full time. “Dave has really worked to make us successful,” Morrison said. With three road salesmen, including Morrison, more than 100 schools come to the team store for their uniforms, from youth teams to varsity teams.

“It’s a lot of fun, a lot of work, and you wear many hats,” said Morrison. He loves working with his “Mountain Brook Mamas” (employees) and tries his best to employ students from Mountain Brook, especially during summer and holiday breaks. Mountain Brook Sporting Goods is looking forward to the start of school and football season for the Spartans.