it started with two men - c.f. and chub o’reilly. together they had the courage and the confidence to strike out on their own. they gathered together 11 others who shared the same desire to offer great customer service and auto parts availability and opened the doors of o’reilly automotive, inc. on december 2, 1957. now, more than 57 years later, the more than 68,000 team members at o’reilly auto parts are proud of the growth and success we’ve experienced over the years. during our early years, we focused on sales and slow and steady growth. at the end of our first year, sales totaled $700,000, and by 1961 these sales reached $1.3 million. for the first seven years of operation, our first store in springfield, mo was our only store until the second one opened in july 1965.by march of 1975, we had nine stores, annual sales of $7 million, and opened our new 48,000 square-foot warehouse, also in springfield. the long range plans and stability of the company were solidified by a publ