Ben Person: The Archery Pioneer

The Legendary Ben Pearson was born in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains near Paron Arkansas, in a log cabin, on November 16, 1898. 

At the age of 3 years old he was kicked in the middle of the forehead by a mule due to young Ben pulling on its tail. As years went along he played ball with the neighborhood boys, swam, and whittled wood with his knife besides his daily farm chores. With only a grammar school education, Ben taught himself about electricity and mechanics. His first paying job as a teenager was repairing appliances.  He then got hired by electric companies and worked in Little Rock, and North Little Rock until 1927 when he was on his way to boot camp in World War when the armistice was signed. 

In 1926 he made his first bow in as a bowyer, it was made from Hickory. It was 72 inches long patterned after the English longbow. He based it off a article he read written by Dan Beard for the bow scouts. Beard had been an illustrator for the famous Mark Twain and was influential in starting the Boy Scout movement. 

That same year Ben entered the Arkansas state Archery Championships using that bow and his own made arrows. He finishing second to last place. While Ben was working for the electric company he was on the road most of the time and quickly became an archery fanatic, finding time to enter archery tournaments, make equipment for friends an others, founding Archery clubs, and anything else archery related. 

In 1927 at the age of 29 Ben moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas and was building bows and crafting arrows part-time in his backyard workshop. This year he made himself a new bow and set of arrows and became the Arkansas State Archery Champion. 

In 1931, with ideas and believing in himself, he hired several part-time helpers in his backyard archery shop. America was still in the Great Depression but his sales of archery equipment continued to increase. In 1932 Ben left his job with the electrical company to pursue archery full-time. For the next six years he built bows, arrows, accessories and continued in competitive archery. 

In 1938, he went to the NAA National Tournament and placed 7th  just behind his future employee Pat Chambers, and 24 places above Fred Bear. Also he started to market his arrows through pamphlets which resulted in his first Ben Pearson Inc. catalog. This catalog at first only advertised his  arrows. That year   an Oklahoma oilman named Carl Haun visited Ben wanting to buy arrows for his own grandson. Haun was so impressed by Ben and what he was doing that Haun offered Ben financial backing.  and on March 19, 1938.

With Haun help Ben Pearson Incorporated was formed and they began commercial operations in an old sorghum mill in Pine Bluff. In 1939 they added bows to their  catalog and began mass production of broadheads. (Punch pressed steel “skeleton” ferrule broadhead)

In 1941 Ben  was making several different bow models.  Carl Haun moved to Pinebluff to help organize the Ben Pearson firm.

By 1943, Ben Pearson Co.  pioneered in archery supplies and went from a three-man business  to employ 365 workers. A lot of those workers were physically handicapped who needed employment to live. From Ben's unbiased attitude the company

received the state’s Legion award in 1947.

By 1952, Ben Pearson Co. was producing 50 percent of all the archery equipment sold in the U.S. The company’s sprawling complex had expanded to twelve buildings covering 139,000 square feet, and all of it was due to Ben Pearson’s mechanization genius. Ben had great people at his business and didn't have to worry about being there all the time. He was quite busy hunting and promoting archery. In 1956 alone he appeared at more than 40 exhibitions and shows across the country, including the nationally-televised Will Rogers Jr. show in New York City. 

In 1957 Ben hired Jack Witt who was highly skilled with a bow to change the outdated marketing. Jack was an instrumental force in the Professional Archery Association, The Ben Pearson Open, performed exhibitions, and assisted Pearson with his exhibitions, as well write archery clinic columns.

Before 1958, Pearson bows just had a model number. Now in 1958 bows were given names, such as Cougar, Javelina, Mustang and Pinto. The high-end Golden Sovereign line was introduced in 1961 to go along with the elite Palomino in the regular line. 

By 1963 things were happening for Ben Pearson, the average daily output was 3,000 bows and 3,000 to 4,000 doz. arrows. Add to that Ben invented the famous “Dead Head” broadhead. And he traveled to Mexico City to give archery demonstrations at the Latin American Trade Fair where there were several hundred thousand attendees. 1963 wasn't all pleasant, as Carl Haun passed away after being selected by President Kennedy to help serve on the business committee on Tax reduction,  passed that year. 

By 1965 Ben Pearson employee force grew to 1,000, with plant facilities covering over 15 acres in Pine Bluff  Arkansas, and manufacturing facilities in Canada. There's no dispute that Ben Pearson Archery had the largest facility, production and numbers of employees and representatives than any other Archery manufacturer for over three decades. That year while things were booming Ben Pearson took a world record grizzly and polar bear on the same trip to Alaska. Which probably is the most remembered hunt he had by alot of us old farts. It was his first time and only time to hunt those species. 

In early 1967 Ben's health was failing, he sold his interest in the archery company to the Leisure Group, a manufacturing conglomerate with corporate offices in Los Angeles. At the same time the Sovereign line of bows was dropped, yet several models were continued under the Pearson name. Ben Pearson headquarters was moved to Los Angeles, California.  

In 1972 The Brunswick Corporation bought Ben Pearson from the Leisure Group. The headquarters was than moved to Tulsa Oklahoma.  In 1978 Ben Pearson was bought by an old partner of Ben Pearson's and once again back in Pine Bluff, Ark. In 1983 Pearson brought back four bows: the cougar, Bronco , all American, and the Mercury Hunter. 

Something else about Ben Pearson Archery is they also produced the Apex Line. Many of the Apex bows were nearly identical to regular Pearsons. Some think it was a line made for Finny Sports, or some other company wanting their own brand to sell. Others say the Apex line was a brand to sell Pearson's "Seconds" (factory rejects), but there is no evidence of that as  Pearson sold their own "seconds" as Pearson bows, and stamped a large "S" in the bottom of the riser. They were often discounted 30-50% depending on the flaw(s).

Another brand called "The Locksley" line was an Early to mid 1960's entry level line of bows made by Ben Pearson Company. These were particularly marketed in Europe. Most Locksley branded bows were from the same designs as regular Pearsons, with a few exceptions. For example: the Locksley Lion was like a supercharged Pearson Cougar - same general design but with a larger riser and tip overlays. 

Other bows called, The Ben Pearson Special and KM Special was a Ben Pearson Hunter model that was made for K-Mart. They were not quite as high a quality as the regular Hunter model, but a serviceable bow that was not quite true centershot.

Some of Ben's earliest product inventions were the following:  The first “mass produced broadhead” a skeleton ferule broadhead” (punch pressed steel broadhead); various fishing and arrow points or pyles; a hollow wood tournament arrow in 1938/39. In the 1940s, he received a patent for a three piece take down bow; and various archery  machine inventions, such as the cresting machine, handle trim lathe, bow tillering machine, automatic arrow point machine, automatic bow sanding machine, and target machine (to make straw targets). 

Aside from the archery industry, in 1949 Ben Pearson manufactured some of the first mass produced mechanical cotton pickers. Also made sewing machine parts, boats, boat trailers, corn cribs, and automobile pipe fittings. 

Ben Pearson promoted Archery through sponsorship programs, tournaments, instructive Archery films, bow hunting films, personal Archery demonstrations, sponsored demonstrations of representatives, grand international bow hunts, cooperative sponsorship efforts with the Professional Archers Association, Archery Manufacturers Organization, National Field Archers Association, and efforts with Archery clubs and associations 

 For all this great man did in his life he was well deserved to be inducted to the following: The National Bowhunters Hall of Fame,

The National Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame.

Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. Arkansas Outdoor Sportsman Hall Of Fame.

Arkansas Bowhunters Hall of Fame.

In 1967 he received the Compton Medal of Honor from the National Field Archery Association.

Ben Pearson was among the first inductees of the The Archery Hall of Fame & Museum in 1972. One year after he passed away.