Basketball shoes had a rudimentary beginning. It all began back in 1908 when the Converse Rubber Corporation opened its doors for business. Basketball, at the time, was catching on as a trendy sport, but still not terribly popular. The Converse Corporation saw an opportunity to provide a comfortable shoe to those who played basketball. After much research and development, Converse debuted its original basketball shoe in 1917 called the “Converse All-Star.” At the time, the basketball shoe only came in one color — black. This basketball shoe was to be the first mass-produced basketball shoe in North America. It consisted of a very thick rubber sole and a canvas upper ankle covering. When it was first introduced, basketball players of the day did not like them, but over time, the shoe became more popular, especially when Charles “Chuck” Taylor joined the Converse Corporation sales force.
Chuck Taylor was a basketball player who played for the Akron Firestones. He liked what he saw in the All-Star shoe and knew basketball players around the United States would soon be wearing them. In 1921, Taylor joined the Converse sales force and began traveling around the country, not only promoting the game of basketball, but selling his company’s shoes as well. Because of Taylor’s efforts and success in selling and distributing the Converse basketball shoes all over the country, Converse decided to rename the shoe after him. Thus, “Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars” were born.
Soon, basketball players, as well as many American boys, wanted to be wearing the Chuck Taylor shoes. Because of its rising popularity in the country, Converse decided to offer another color - white.
During World War II, Taylor became the fitness consultant to the entire United States Armed Forces. GI’s performed their rigorous exercises in their high-top “Chucks” and the Chuck Taylor shoe became the official sneaker of the United States Armed Forces.
After the war, basketball teams began demanding more color in their basketball shoes. Some teams began wearing different color shoelaces, while others dyed their shoes different colors. Converse recognized the importance of offering colors other than just black and white, and in 1966, produced a variety of new colors that still exist today.
By this time in the 1960s, Converse owned 80 percent of the entire basketball shoe industry, but when the 1970s came rolling in, other shoe companies began to make their move. Basketball shoes began to evolve from canvas to leather, which offered more ankle support. In the 1980s, a number of high-tech innovations were added to basketball and other athletic shoes. Nike started to be a big contender in the basketball shoe market and remains on top of the game as the athletic shoe industry leader today.
But despite all the innovations over the last couple of decades, Chuck Taylor All-Stars remain a popular shoe today. More than 30,000 pairs are distributed across the world in a week’s time. At the end of 2003, more than 580 million Chuck Taylor All-Stars had been sold since its debut in 1917. And since 1923, Chuck Taylor’s have not changed one bit (other than the colors), and they probably never will.
By John Ivie