the Short History of Shakespeare / Root Archery 1959-1976

The Short History of Root and Shakespeare Archery, 1959- 1976

by Larry Vienneau

  (with help from George D Stout, Rick Rappe, Lawrence Root, and Bob Hargreaves)

The history of Shakespeare Archery has been neglected. Shakespeare stopped archery production in 1976 and the company lost its records over the years. Recently Ernie Roots' son, Lawrence Root, has stepped forward and added valuable information.

William Shakespeare, Jr. invented a patent for his fishing reel and began producing fishing equipment in the late 1800s. In the 20th century, Shakespeare became a major producer of sporting equipment. In 1959 Shakespeare Corporation acquired Parabow the Ohio-based Parallel Products Company, a maker of archery equipment that was organized into Shakespeare's Archery subsidiary. Parabow was one of the main producers of solid fiberglass bows in the 1950s. Shakespeare was an early pioneer of the application of fiberglass to fishing rods. The merger of these two companies was a match made in heaven. During the sixties and seventies, Shakespeare produced fiberglass and wood laminate bows but it did not forsake its Parabow line of solid fiberglass archery equipment.

RH and LH Model 100-600 1959 and 1960

 The style of these bow was simple and they were often the first bow of a youngster. In 1959, along with the Parabow line, Shakespeare introduced the 100 through 400 series of recurves. In early 1960, Shakespeare began a collaboration with a gifted bow maker Ernie Root. 

Ernie Root

 Shakespeare partnered with Mr. Root and together they created outstanding and affordable bows. Ernie Root began his bow-making career working at American Archery in Chicago in the late 1940s. He quit American and started Root Archery in the early 1950s as a family business in suburban Chicago. After outgrowing a couple of small spaces, it moves out of the city, eventually settling in Big Rapids, MI. Ernie Root was a great tournament archer and set a record for an individual score of 836 in 1947 which was not broken until 1959.

One of the few online photos of Ernie Root (second from right)

Most people assumed that Shakespeare acquired Root Archery in the late 1960s. Ernie Root’s Son Lawrence Root has been adding to the knowledge and now it seems that it was a mutually beneficial merger rather than an acquisition.  Root Archery had been a supplier to Shakespeare for several years. Ernie Root made his bows, from the early 50's to the late 60's or early 70's in Big Rapids, MI. Around the late 60's he sold a number of his designs to Shakespeare, who slimmed them down and renamed them. For example, The Root Warrior became the Necedah in 1964 as a 55” bow, The Brush Master became the Kaibab, and the Field Master became the Ocala. The first bows of this type bore the name "Root, by Shakespeare". Shortly afterward Ernie Root went to work for Shakespeare, and the Root name was dropped completely but his design influence would continue. After the merger with Shakespeare, Mr. Root became a consultant and manager of production. Ernie also continued producing his own line of bows under the "ROOT" name even though the business was sold to Shakespeare in 1969. Shakespeare moved to Columbia, SC approximately three years later, a move Mr. Root opposed. 

after leaving Shakespeare Ernie dedicated his time to the Golden Eagle with Phil Grable

 

Golden Eagle was an extension of Root's Archery Research Division

Owen Jeffery in 1974 Shakespeare Catalog

Shakespeare continued without Ernie Root which adversely affected quality and production. Ernie devoted his time to developing the metal riser take-down (Golden Eagle) with Phil Grable (Owen Jeffery later took over the design of the bow with Jeffery Archery).

old Root / Shakespeare bow scale
used in Jeffery Archery Factory

 Owen Jeffery, an inventive and talented bowyer was hired as President of Shakespeare Archery to revitalize the brand. Before He came to Shakespeare he was Master Bowyer and a Vice-President at Bear Archery. He brought Shakespeare's Archery operation to Columbia South Carolina. Later he began Jeffery Archery around 1975. Owen bought all of the equipment when Shakespeare shut down. Jeffery archery is the last vestige of Shakespeare / Root archery. Here are some photos Bob Hargreaves sent of the Root/ Shakespeare equipment still being used by Jeffery Archery Bob worked for both Root and Shakespeare.

Owen Jeffery with his son Tom's

old Root bow press

Shakespeare, Bear, and Pearson were the three most widely sold brands in the country. They built and sold a lot of bows throughout the sixties and specialized in solid performers for reasonable prices. Shakespeare never totally grasped the changing landscape of 1970's bow production, Shakespeare clung to the recurve bow while other manufacturers embraced the compound. Shakespeare closed the line of archery equipment in 1976. Shakespeare's Archery division was only part of the Shakespeare Corporation and they decided to get out of the archery field when it became apparent that the market was headed to the development of the compound bow. They never produced compounds but did create prototypes. If you run across a Shakespeare compound bow it is one of a kind, a true collector. 

Many of Shakespeares' bow designs were sold to Proline such as the Shakespeare Osprey, Condor, and Golden Eagle. Often both logos appeared on the bows. Eventually an "S" appeared before "Proline". Proline stopped making recurves and adopted the compound trend. Proline went out of business in the early 1990s.
 

Bob Hargreaves knew Ernie Root and worked at both the Root and Shakespeare Archery factories. He went to Columbia SC When Shakespeare moved there. He left the company in 1973. He sent photos of the building which once housed the Root factory. He says the front of the building has changed over the years but the rest is very similar to the old days.

  

Big Rapids MI.  It was very plain looking back then and there were parking spaces all

across the front. The spaces on each side of the front door were reserved for

Ernie and Dave.

 

East side of the building.

Rearview. The Quonset hut on the left is where all the wood was stored.

The rear of the building. This was the finishing area.

Marcy Root's string factory was on this alley in downtown Big Rapids.

This was the Shakespeare plant in Columbia, SC. It was home to the Root Archery

Division from October 1971 until Owen Jeffery bought the archery operation from

Shakespeare.

try to imagine Bear Archery without Fred Bear!!

So why did Shakespeare's Archery 
fail and Bear Archery prosper? One obvious reason was Fred Bear. With his distinctive hat, Fred Bear was a celebrity, an archery innovator, and an icon. He had the perfect name too. Image if his name had NOT been "Bear"? Imagine a Fred Lamb, a Fred Dangerfield, or a Fred Smith Bow? It just doesn't sound the same. Bear archery succeeded because of Fred Bear. He was the guiding force behind the company. Bear Archery is one of the oldest archery companies so Shakespeare had to play catch-up to Bear. This was a friendly competition, however. Fred Bear and Ernie Root were good friends. They often shared materials and equipment and helped each other out. By the Mid to late 1960s, Shakespeare was producing bows that equaled Bear in quality and speed. The compound bow was the "beginning of the end" for Shakespeare. Around the time of its appearance Mr. Root was leaving Shakespeare and their Archery Division was in turmoil. However, Bear Archery began investing in new technology and reinvented itself and Bear never dropped the recurve bow from its line. So, nearly forty years later, Shakespeare Archery is a memory while Bear still produces quality bows.  There are many more Bear bows than Shakespeare / Root Bows available to a vintage collector today. Real vintage collectors acknowledge Ernie Root as a brilliant bowyer equal in skill to Fred Bear. Even the most ardent Bear fan grudgingly respects the Shakespeare / Root bows. I own Hoyt, Bear, York, Groves, Pearson, and Shakespeare Bows. Personally, I love the look and feel of the Shakespeare Bow. I know from experience that they are equal in beauty to the Bear bow and in a speed test, they are more than equal to a Bear as well.

article from September 1970 BOW AND ARROW

 thanks to George D Stout, Rick Rappe, Lawrence Root, and Bob Hargreaves

© Copyright, Larry Vienneau Jr.

All rights reserved.