Bass Pro Shops

BPS Direct, LLC, doing business as Bass Pro Shops, is an American privately-held sporting goods retailer that offers hunting, fishing, camping, and other related outdoor recreation merchandise. Headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, Bass Pro Shops has a workforce of about 40,000. Bass Pro also owns Cabela's, another retailer that specializes in similar categories. History Bass Pro Shops started in 1972 when Johnny Morris started selling fishing tackle out of his dad's Brown Derby Liquor Store in Springfield, Missouri. His father, John A. Morris, was a World War II veteran and often took the family hunting and fishing, which Johnny Morris cited as what taught him to love the outdoors. The first Bass Pro Shops catalog was created in 1974. In 1978, Morris introduced Tracker Boats, the first boat, motor, and trailer package designed for anglers. In 1981, Morris opened the first Bass Pro Shops outdoor store in Springfield. In 1987, Morris bought an empty plot of land on Table Rock Lake in the Ozarks, where he opened Big Cedar Lodge the following year.