Welcome to the blog of the High Standard Collectors' Association. Feel free to browse around and enjoy! If you have a question about one of our posts, or have something to add, please leave a comment by clicking on COMMENTS or COMMENT just below the post. We'd love to hear from you!

Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Memories of Working at High Standard

 

Bob Coyle was a sales rep for High Standard in the mid 1970s.

He has agreed to share some of his memories of that era.

I started with High Standard in Hamden, CT in 1974 as sales coordinator working for Don Zemke when they were part of the Leisure Group. Don Mitchell was president.  Bob Shea was a good pal. I allocated product to the distributor’s orders and answered customer service inquiries, followed up with consumer repairs.  I was a decent amateur photographer, which got me on trips to trade shows and sales meetings. That group had a lot of fun on the road. I got the regional sales job for the PA area in 1975. As the rookie, I followed Big Jim Dyson into the territory. He was a hard drinking, hard selling pro who went into the rep business.  I moved to Allentown, PA with my dog.  Target guns were still pretty strong.  Our police pump shotguns were strong. At some point Mitchell did a deal with Harry Sanford from Auto Mag.  He did a deal with a Japanese shotgun factory to private label Shadow sporting shotguns, semiautos and o/u’s. Eric Brooker who came from Colt with Mitchell was product manager. He did a series of .36 caliber black power revolvers (Uberti) that honored southern gun makers such as Griswold & Gunnison, Leech & Rigdon, etc.  They bombed.  The factory had a bunch of work in process that was dead inventory. In 1976, I suggested that my Philadelphia account, Sportsman’s Emporium, do a Bicentennial Special Edition. The sales manager, Bob Sheridan, said,” Coyle if you pull this sale off I’ll kiss you on the corner of Church and Chapel (downtown New Haven)”.  I think we made over 2000 of them. I heard that Brooker made a deal with some Colt engraver (AE White ?) to do a short engraved edition. I have an engraved one somewhere. I was involved with raising money to produce the Crusader (big bore revolver).  I traveled to some major wholesalers and got money up front to make them. High Standard didn’t have the funds to finance it themselves. It wasn’t the only time we called on our customers for cash in advance. The company always had trouble earning enough to cover their debts. The target guns stayed in demand.  I designed the Survival Pack ( Sharpshooter) for the company. It was the start of special edition ideas that would eventually allow me to make a living in the business. Money was always tight at High Standard but they managed.  The company was sold. Clem Confessore became president. He was a spirited, volatile leader. Great guy, and still in the business today as a lean mfg. consultant. I had sales for 1/2 the country by then.