Bob Goodall and his reels

[David Lehmann]

Robert Goodall was a hugely successful inventor who developed and produced early closed-faced spinning reels. He began the Good-All Electric Manufacturing Company in the mid 1920s. During World War II, his company had a number of defense-related electronics contracts. After the war, he became intrigued by European spinning reels. "I figured I could simplify it and make it sell," he reported during an interview. He did both.

Good-All began producing and selling closed-face spinning reels in late 1948 or early 1949. (Fishing reel manufacturing is listed by his firm in a Nebraska business directory which was printed no later than March, 1949.) By 1953, his company was selling approximately 500,000 reels per year. Bob Goodall passed away in late 1953. His company, which became employee-owned after his death, continued to make fishing reels for a few more years and then got out of the reel business. TRW purchased the Good-All company in 1960 and abandoned the "Good-All" name in 1963.

Good-All produced at least nine models of closed-faced reels. His reels carried a lifetime warranty. Pictured here are a single-multiplying reel, a 2.25x multiplying reel with a thumb brake, a 2.25x multiplier with a star drag, and in integrated multiplier with rod. All were "side-casters."

Good-All, Fre-Line, and Humpal reels have similar designs, and the company founders and designers had a web of professional interactions prior to reel production. All of the companies' early reels are based upon Lemoyne Joseph Uerling's patent. However, Bob Goodall's reel production clearly predates Uerling's August 1949 patent application date.

[Midway Tommy D]

Nice writeup and photos, David! Interesting reel and manufacturing location. There was no I-80 back then so he was out in the middle of nowhere. Got to love the "Lifetime Warranty" aspect of them, a grand total of eleven, or maybe at the most, fourteen years.

[David Lehmann]

Tommy,
He had quite the manufacturing complex with satellite plants scattered across the state. Reels were just a small part of his legacy. He produced an early movie projector, watch repairing equipment, neon signs, oil production equipment, and lots of electronics. When he passed away, about 2/3 of the entire front page of the Ogalla newspaper was about him. A number of mayors of large cities reportedly tried to lure him away from Ogallala with all kinds of tax and financial incentives but he declined their offers. From what I've read, the company's reel business was just a ghost after 1956. I have a number of retailer catalogs from 1957 and 1958, and none of them carry Good-All reels. Earlier catalogs and fishing tackle reviews all included Good-All reels. While he was alive, Good-All gave Zebco and Fre-Line a run for their money. It seems like the company didn't have a good succession plan. His widow sold the company to the employees, because she believed that's what Bob would have wanted.

[Steve]

A Good-All was the first sidecast CFSR I'd ever seen back in the day, and it was exciting to get it in a box. While we were stopped in Ogallala once, waiting for a herd of cattle to cross the road*, my wife nixed the idea of trying to find the Good-All reel plant. Little did I know then that the company name had been changed.

* Why did the cattle cross the road? (Answer available by sending a Good-All boxtop and current first-class stamp.)