2023 Inductee
James Clifford Keen
Cliff Keen Athletic
The Keen name and its products are synonymous with wrestling throughout the world.
The name will double in visibility in the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame as JAMES CLIFFORD KEEN (Deceased November 24, 2020 at age 79) will be inducted in the Class of 2023. He will join his father, Cliff Keen, who was a Class of 2012 inductee. They were instrumental in the growth of Cliff Keen Athletic in the last 64 years into the leading brand in amateur wrestling products.
Dan Gable can attest to Jim Keen’s impact on the sport. The legendary Gable won two NCAA titles and an Olympic gold medal as a wrestler, won 15 NCAA titles as Iowa’s head coach and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“I know of no person that I can honestly say is as well-liked and respected as Jim Keen,” Gable said. “I go back with his father Cliff and can see why this family is so well-respected. Jim Keen’s smartness, work ability and looking to the future will always be there and never forgotten. Jim was full-time in the sporting goods business but spent a lot of his time being involved with associations and committees, volunteering his time for the goodness of sports and its participants.”
Jim Keen positively impacted wrestling in many ways: as a competitor at the University of Michigan under his father; as an inventor of wrestling equipment; as co-founder and CEO of Cliff Keen Athletic; as a tournament sponsor; and as a legislative liaison. Jim was involved with USA Wrestling, advocated on behalf of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) and served as chairman of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame from 2004-2013.
“Few people, if anyone, have done more to support amateur wrestling over the years than Jim Keen,” said Michael Moyer, NWCA Executive Director. “Through his leadership and extraordinary financial support of the NWCA, we have helped to establish 272 new men’s and women’s college wrestling programs just over the past 20 years. His vision and passion for amateur wrestling has helped to position girls and women’s wrestling as one of the fastest growing sports in America.”
Following Cliff Keen’s wrestling ear guard patent in 1958-59, Jim and Cliff started the company as “Cliff Keen Wrestling Products, Inc.” in the family’s basement. Orders started pouring in once the ear guards became required and Jim Keen decided he wanted to grow the family business. Once he graduated from Michigan in the mid-1960s with a Business degree, Jim set his sights on taking Cliff Keen Wrestling products to the next level.
By 1970, Jim expanded the product offering to include uniforms and tights, warm-up suits and other protective products such as knee pads. By the early 1980s, Jim established Cliff Keen Athletic as the predominant brand in amateur wrestling. Jim attended sporting goods industry shows such as NSGA’s to spearhead efforts in channel distribution and rapidly grew Cliff Keen Athletic’s sales.
Cliff Keen Athletic’s product offering today is in large part a reflection of Jim Keen’s innovative efforts in continuously advancing wrestling products. Using new technologies and materials, Jim’s pursuit of better protection, comfort and style for wrestlers have been realized with patents on file for all three of Cliff Keen’s current best-selling headgear: The Tornado®, The Fusion® and The Signature™ Headgear. Jim also patented work on certain components used in Cliff Keen wrestling ear guards and he was able to design and contribute to several other products, including wrestling kneepads under the Cliff Keen brand, which have become mainstays on the mats.
“Jim Keen’s impact upon sport and the sporting goods industry has been instrumental on a number of fronts over the past six decades,” said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. “I can testify to the fact that Jim was on the cutting edge of applying science and technology to invent safety products and apparel such as headguards and knee pads for the sport of wrestling.”
In 2004, Jim Keen received the National Wrestling Hall of Fame’s Order of Merit for his many contributions and service to wrestling. Jim sadly passed away in November 2020 and is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Mary, his children Jim Jr., Tom and Caroline and 10 grandchildren. Tom continues the legacy of Cliff Keen Athletic as its President.