CHINA GROVE — A long-time fixture in Southern Rowan County athletics died last week. Friends and family of Dale Keiger remember him as a man of many talents who loved where he lived and, more importantly, the people who lived there.

For years, Keiger ran a store in downtown China Grove called the Young Men’s Shop, which he opened in 1954.

As a clothing store, Keiger outfitted many young men in and around China Grove. Harry Reese knew Keiger dating back to the 1960s. One suit he purchased from Keiger still stands out to him,

“It was dark green, and it had two pairs of pants,” Reese said. “One was dark green like the jacket, and the other pair was plaid. I thought I was really something.”

Reese explained that Keiger believed it was important for young men to have a suit and that he did not think one’s ability to afford a suit should determine whether or not they had one, so he would “run a tab for anyone.”

Keiger’s charitable nature would soon extend to sporting goods. Having played baseball in the U.S. Army, Keiger was always a fervent follower of the game, and he wanted others to have that opportunity.

The store’s name was changed to Dale’s Sporting Goods in the 1970s. From that store came sports apparel and sports equipment that garnered a positive reputation throughout the region. The store also became a hub of China Grove youth sports, the place where the kids went to sign up to play baseball and softball.

Before and after the rebrand, Keiger’s shop was a place where the athletically inclined China Grove residents could go to talk ball. Former South Rowan Coach Steve Beaver remembers that aspect of it well.

“Going to school in China Grove and going to South Rowan, the Young Men’s Shop was sort of a place to go on Saturday morning and talk about how well you played the night before or how you did not play well the night before,” Beaver said.

Beaver’s earliest memory of Keiger was tagging along with his father and brother to the Young Men’s Shop, where they “sold wooden baseball bats.”

While Keiger’s store was a staple in the China Grove community, his contributions extended outside the downtown shop’s walls.

The business was the flagship sponsor for the popular countywide basketball tournament — the Sam Moir Christmas Classic. Former South Rowan High School football coach Reid Bradshaw credits Keiger’s sporting goods shop as the source of much of their equipment.

Bradshaw indicated that Keiger also helped the school obtain their first activity buses along with other ways he was instrumental in supporting athletics in the southern portion of Rowan County.

Several people credited Keiger’s work in advancing China Grove Little League baseball. Earlier this year, China Grove and the China Grove Service Club named the concession stand at the town’s ballpark after Keiger and his wife, Gayle.

Gayle died in July. Gayle’s sister, Sue Williams, said on Monday that Keiger’s “heart was large, and he loved his family, his church and his community.”

Williams added, “He was so good to my sister during her decline. They were almost always together during their adult lives. There have just been five months since Gayle’s passing. They are now together again.”

The Keigers were active in their church, First United Methodist. Reese explained that through his position on the building committee, Keiger helped the church as it grew to become the building that it is today.

Reese spent a lot of time with Keiger. They would go fishing every year down near Topsail Island. Reese said that they called Keiger the Flounder Man. Nicknames were something that many people shared with Keiger. Williams said he had a tease and a special name for most people in his life.

Tommy Welch, who worked for Keiger, before taking over the sporting goods store in 2020, called his former boss “The Big Cheese” in a Facebook tribute post.

Welch spent as much time with Keiger during the last two decades as anyone, working alongside him at the shop.

“I would say he was pretty generous,” Welch said. “He helped out a lot of kids that people did not know about. I was privy to a lot of them because I was here and got to see a lot of that being as close as we were. He never asked for recognition … If somebody came in and couldn’t afford shoes, gloves, etc., I have seen him take care of that more than once.”

According to his friends and family, that is just the type of man that Keiger was. He left behind a storied legacy and won’t be soon forgotten. On nights at the Little League field, whenever spectators step to the concession stand for a cold soda, they’ll look up and see his name. From above, Keiger and Gayle will be looking back at them, smiling, knowing that they were able to share a little happiness in China Grove.