‘It’s been a ride.’ Merced family business is celebrating 100-year anniversary

Dan McNamara would love Sundays after church as a kid. That’s when he and his siblings would get to go to the family store while nobody else was there.

The McNamara kids had all the toys in the store to themselves.

“We would ravage the toy store, all the electric scooters,” McNamara said. “I’m sure we left the store in chaos for the workers the next day.”

This year marks the 100th anniversary that the Merced business — now named McNamara Sports — has been in the family.

McNamara Sports, which is located at 437 W. 18th St., is commemorating the 100-year milestone with a celebration this weekend. The store is hosting an open house on Friday from 5-7 p.m. Guests will receive free T-shirts and there will be music and some historical photos of the store on display.

On Saturday, the McNamaras are hosting a private party at the Italo-American Lodge in Merced with a guest list that includes current employees, past employees, friends, customers and coaches.

“It’s almost like planning a wedding,” said Dan McNamara.

There’s plenty of reason to celebrate after keeping a local business afloat for a century. The shop has survived the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Desert Storm and a global pandemic.

In the beginning: Bedesen and McNamara Hardware

The store opened in 1923 when McNamara’s grandfather Jack and his partner Fred Bedesen purchased Kocher Hardware and formed Bedesen and McNamara Hardware.

Yes, McNamara Sports began as a hardware store.

The store sold farm hardware and farm implements. Bedesen and McNamara Hardware was the first Ford Tractor dealer in Merced County. It also sold dynamite and mining tools for the remaining gold mines in the Merced Falls/Hornitos area.

The store became McNamara Hardware after Jack McNamara purchased the Bedesen interest after Bedesen’s death in 1946.

The original location of the the store was on 18th Street and what is now Canal Street in downtown Merced.

The store is in its fourth location in Merced after previous stops on G Street and Olive Avenue and in the Bear Creek Plaza.

Jack McNamara spent 40 years running the store before turning it over to Dan’s father Steve and uncle Tom.

Under Steve and Tom the business transitioned to McNamara Sports in 1978.

However, in 1987 a fire destroyed the building.

Dan McNamara, who was living in Fresno at the time, happened to be in Merced for an engagement party when he heard the building was on fire.

“We went down there and watched it burn to the ground with a crowd of people,” Dan McNamara said. “The fire was really devastating. We lost a lot of historical stuff.”

Dan McNamara joins family business

After the fire, Steve McNamara approached his son Dan about helping out with getting the business up and running again.

In 1988, Dan McNamara joined the team and McNamara Sports reopened on the corner of Olive and G Street.

Ten years later, Dan McNamara become owner of McNamara Sports and has been running the family business ever since and saw moves to the Bear Creek Plaza and now downtown on 18th Street.

With Dan’s daughters Brittany and Courtany McNamara both working in the shop, there have been four generations of McNamaras working for the family business.

Longtime Merced American Legion baseball coach Rollo Adams has been a McNamara Sports customer for 30 years.

“I’ve always felt Dan and his family were genuine people and fair on their pricing,” Adams said. “I’ve rarely had to shop around. I’ve just given all my loyalty to them.”

Keeping local sports teams in uniform

McNamara Sports specializes in screen printing and embroidery and makes many of the uniforms for local sports teams including high schools, junior highs, youth and adult recreational leagues.

“Some of our customers have been with me since I started, like the the high school district, city school district, (Merced County Office of Education) and all the schools associated with them, Merced Youth Baseball, Merced Youth Softball, Atwater Youth Baseball,” Dan McNamara said.

Some of the toughest times as a business owner for McNamara were the banking crash in 2008 and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We rely on people playing sports — kids, adults, high schools, junior highs — and that was all shut down for two years really,” he said. “That was really tough.”

Despite many challenges, the family has always found a way to keep the business going.

“It’s been a ride,” Dan McNamara said. “It’s definitely never really been easy. I have seven siblings and I was the only one smart enough or dumb enough to get into this thing.”

Shawn Jansen

Merced Sun-Star

209-385-2462

Sports writer Shawn Jansen has been covering Merced area sports for 20 years. He came to Merced from Suisun City and is a graduate of San Diego State University. Prior to the Sun-Star, Shawn worked at the Daily Republic in Fairfield.