D&R is Dick and Randy. Father and son. Forty-plus years serving Southwest Michigan — and the family behind Kevin VanDam, the most decorated tournament bass angler in history.
D&R Sports Center opened in 1982 when Dick VanDam and his son Randy — a former Michigan State Champion Bass Angler — set out to build the best fishing tackle store in Southwest Michigan. The store name is the two of them: Dick and Randy. What started as a small shop grew into one of the most respected sporting goods stores in the Midwest.
The VanDam name carries real weight. Randy's nephew Kevin VanDam — 4x Bassmaster Classic Champion, 11x BASS Angler of the Year — grew up shopping at D&R. Randy's son Jonathon is a pro bass angler in his own right. Three generations on the water, one family behind the counter.
Read Our Story →D&R has never been a store run from a corner office. Three generations of competitive VanDam anglers have stood at this counter and on these lakes. The store is a reflection of them — and of the customers who've trusted us since 1982.
Co-Founder · Michigan State Champion Bass Angler
Randy co-founded D&R Sports Center with his father Dick in 1982. A former Michigan State Champion Bass Angler, Randy built the store around the kind of tackle wall, expertise, and counter conversations he wanted as a competitive angler — and never found in Kalamazoo.
Randy's Nephew · 4x Bassmaster Classic Champion · 11x BASS Angler of the Year
Kevin grew up in Kalamazoo and grew up shopping at D&R. He went on to become the most decorated bass angler in the history of the sport — four Bassmaster Classic championships, eleven BASS Angler of the Year titles. His first major win came in 1988. The standards he holds at tournament weigh-in are the standards on every rod we put on the wall.
Randy's Son · Pro Bass Angler
Jonathon is Randy’s son and a professional bass angler in his own right. He carries the VanDam name onto the water as the third generation — competing across the national circuit while keeping a hand in the Kalamazoo store that raised him.
Dick and Randy VanDam open D&R Sports Center in Kalamazoo. The store name is the two of them: Dick and Randy. Randy, a former Michigan State Champion Bass Angler, sets out to build the tackle wall and counter expertise he could never find as a tournament fisherman.
D&R expands into firearms and archery — the first step toward the full-service outdoor store it is today.
Randy's young nephew Kevin VanDam — who grew up shopping at D&R — wins his first major bass tournament. The start of the most decorated career in the history of the sport.
Adds Tahoe, Mako, Nitro, and additional boat lines. Becomes a Tracker Marine dealer and never looks back.
D&R enters the Top 10 of White River Marine Group dealers nationally — a tier the store has only climbed within ever since.
Top 3 White River Marine Group dealer. Three generations of VanDam anglers — Randy, his nephew Kevin, and his son Jonathon — still anchor the family. The store remains West Michigan's premier outdoor shop for fishing, hunting, archery, marine, and boats.
Not just salespeople. We fish the same lakes you do. We hunt the same land. We use the same gear we sell. The VanDam family started this store because that was the kind of counter they couldn't find. Forty-plus years later, that is still the standard.
8178 W Main St, Kalamazoo, MI 49009
Live bait, fly shop, boat sales, FFL transfers, and expert guidance on your next trip.
