Why it belongs in ORBIS
Family-run sporting goods store founded 1908 by Philip Blank near Union Square at 867 Broadway; now run by the fourth generation, stocking gear across skiing, fishing, hunting, baseball, and more.
Paragon Sports was founded in 1908 by Philip Blank as a general sporting goods store in Manhattan; it remains at 867 Broadway, just north of Union Square. After World War II, Blank's three sons joined the business and expanded it into new categories based on their own interests, adding fishing, hunting, skiing, golf, baseball, and basketball departments over time. The store has stayed family-owned through four generations and is now run by Blank's descendants, having outlasted major department store closures and the growth of online sporting-goods retail. In 2026 it was voted the nation's top sporting goods retailer in the USA Today Sports Readers' Choice Awards.