SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – He liked it so much, he bought the company.
Morris Sheehan lived a similar experience as former New England Patriots owner Victor Kiam, who used the above slogan in his Remington shaver commercials years ago.
Sheehan retired from the U.S. Army in 1986 and enjoyed his time fishing in the Military Bass Anglers Association (MBAA). He served as its tournament director for 14 years and even won its 1997 Angler of the Year title. He sure liked what the MBAA did, but he saw it could benefit from new leadership.
“After retiring, I got a job selling boats to support my fishing habit,” he said. “After that I fished the MBAA for many years, and saw it go up and down. I saw an organization that had a lot of potential that wasn’t being brought out. I figured I could do better, tested the waters to see if it was for sale, and I bought it.”
Sheehan said it started out as a hobby to save the military tournament trail, but he renamed it American Bass Anglers (ABA) and opened it to all weekend anglers across the country. Under Sheehan’s leadership, the ABA grew and now holds more than 1,000 tournaments each year. It’s become the largest amateur tournament trail, allowing around 35,000 weekend anglers to compete and hone their tournament skills.
Sheehan’s work was recognized last week with his induction into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame (BFHOF) at Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium. He gave credit to all the fishermen who love the competitions as well as all the people who put on the events.
“This is awesome,” he said in front of the BFHOF crowd. “I’ve asked people to pinch me to make sure I’m supposed to be here. And I’m very humbled. If somebody is brought into an organization like this and isn’t, there’s something wrong with them.”
Of all the people who’ve worked with him, Sheehan said he had to recognize one individual who acknowledged his dream and helped it become a reality. He said Earl Bentz of Triton Boats was the ABA’s first and only boat sponsor.
“Through our sponsors, such as Earl, and all of the 80-plus division directors across the country, we’ve come a long way from a few hundred anglers to where we are now,” Sheehan said. “The people who are truly responsible are the anglers and the division directors. They’re the ones who toil and make our organization what it is.”
Sheehan’s first national championship in 2000 had 195 people compete, but in two years it grew to 635 anglers. In the past 17 years, the ABA has held and promoted more than 15,000 tournaments.
“It just jumped, and from then it’s been an adventure all along,” Sheehan said.
His heart also stands with the military, and he’s held more than 2,000 events alone for U.S. servicemen. Sheehan said his proudest action in fishing is getting military out on the water. He recalled an event on Kentucky Lake where he asked anglers to stay an extra day and take out soldiers who had just returned from Iraq.
“It was the satisfaction of seeing them on the water,” he said. “It gives them an escape from the everyday toils and turmoil they go through.
“We’re were successful in putting 200 military personnel on the water to get their mind off of where they had been. That’s part of American Bass Anglers, and it always will be as long as I’m here.”