2008
“For 1 00 yea rs...”
footwear for men, women, and children. By 1910 Converse Rubber Company was producing 4,000 pairs of shoes daily, but it wasn’t until 1915 that the company began manufacturing athletic shoes for tennis. Basketball, less than 25 years old, was revolutionized in 1917 when Converse designed and produced the world’s first They are more
performance basketball shoes, the Converse All Star.
than just shoes, nostalgia,
In 1918, Charles H. “Chuck” Taylor, a basketball player for the
or a fashion statement. The history of Converse shoes spans the
Akron Firestones, acquires his first pair of All Star basketball
history of 20th century America and the evolution of basketball.
shoes and backed by Converse, he introduces the game of
Converse shoes revolutionized the sport of basketball and
basketball to Americans across the country; all while wearing
witnessed the birth of rock and roll. Sixty percent of all American
his Converse All Stars. Chuck Taylor officially joined Converse
own or have owned at least one pair of Converse sneakers. In
in 1921 as America’s first player endorser, and in 1923 after
1908, Marquis M. Converse, in his late 30’s and previously a
publishing a retrospective on the first 60 years of basketball
respected manager at a footwear manufacturing firm, opened
and teaching his first basketball clinic at North Carolina State
the Converse Rubber Shoe Company for business in Malden,
University, his signature was added to the All Star patch.
Massachusetts and begins providing winterized rubber soled
This decision marks the defining moment in the history of Converse shoes and gives birth to an American icon. Chuck Taylor, known as the “Ambassador of Basketball”, then launched into a 35 year “evangelist tour” to introduce and teach basketball to America. Converse also customizes shoes for the New York Renaissance (the “Rens”), basket ball’s first all African American pro basketball team. The “Rens” pioneered a whole new method of playing and won a remarkable 2,588 games with only 539 losses. Converse steamed ahead through the 1920’s and 1930’s as the nation’s interest in basketball surges. Converse and basketball became synonymous as the Converse Chuck Taylor All Star became the standard issue basketball shoes for professional, college, and high school teams across the country.
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1935 Jack Purcell, a world-famous badminton and the rubber “Smile” in the middle of the toe. The shoe became known as the Converse Jack Purcell. 1935 Chuck Taylor invents the modern basketball titchless” leather basketball with a truer bounce. 1936 Basketball is played as an official Olympic sport for the first time. The U.S. team in Converse All Star shoes defeated Canada 1998 to win the gold medal. 1939 The fist NCAA championship basketball tour nament was held. Both teams wore Converse All Stars.
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When America entered World War II in 1941, Converse shifted production to manufacturing footwear, apparel, boots, parkas, rubber protective suits, and ponchos for pilots and troops. Converse company designed the A6 Flying Boot worn by the U.S. Army Air Corps, sponsored scrap rubber drives, the War Savings Bond Tour, Red Cross blood drives, and supported servicemen with their newsletter Converse-ations. Employees at Converse also created a “Victory Garden” to support agricultural production. During the war, all soldiers were outfitted in Converse Chuck Taylor All Star shoes for basic training, and after the war, All Stars remained the standard government-issue athletic shoes for military and physical training. For its record-breaking production and war efforts, Converse company received a number of honors from the Army, Navy, and U.S. Treasury, including a prestigious “E” for Excellence award from the U.S. War Department. In 1949, the Basketball Association of America and the National League merged to become the NBA. Nearly all professional players wore Chuck Taylor All Star shoes by this time. The Converse All Star was originally produced only in black, but after World War II, the company came under pressure from basketball teams to add additional colors. Converse yielded and a number of new colors were released. Hollywood gave Converse shoes a boost when actors and other celebrities wear them and help Converse All Star to transcend the world of athletic shoes to become an American cultural icon. Sneakers, especially Converse, became the preferred footwear of kids and teenagers and a symbol of youthful rebellion in the 1950’s. These inexpensive shoes are work with jeans and a t-shirt by boys and skirts, sweaters, and ankle socks by girls. Film legend, James Dean officially sanctioned this fashion when he was photographed wearing jeans and white Converse sneakers. By 1955-56, Chucks are the #1 basketball shoe in America. During the 1960’s and 70’s, Converse released a parade of performance footwear, apparel, and accessories for basketball, tennis, football, track, and many other sports. Elite athletes lined up to wear Converse shoes and the line between sports and fashion begins to blur.
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1982 NCAA championship was won by North Carolina in white/carolina blue Pro Leathers when freshman Michael Jordan sinks a game-saving basket with 17 seconds to go, thus earning the Converse Pro Leather shoe the nickname the “Buzzer Beater” 1983 Dr. J led his team to an NBA Championship while wearing Converse-his footwear of choice throughout his career. 1984 Converse was the Official Sponsor of the 1984 Olympic Games and the U.S. men’s basketball team wins gold with Converse shoes on their feet. 1985 Converse’s biomechanics investment paid off when the lab delivered the the industry’s first high-tech midsole cushioning systems.
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Converse and the demand for its rubber-toed shoes began to decline in
Converse is an American legend. You’ve
the 70’s and continued to decline through the next 20 years through a
probably owned a pair. Take a stroll
combination of poor business decisions, lack of money to compete in
to your local coffee shop or better
technology and marketing, and simple bad luck. Despite its investment
yet, drive by a local high school and
in the biomechanics lab, Converse simply could not keep up with the
you’re guaranteed to see at least
technologies released by their younger competitors and soon Converse
one pair of Chucks or probably more
was dropped as the official shoe of the NBA. A disastrous acquisition
than one pair. These classic shoes are
of apparel maker ApexOne in 1995 left the company drowning in debt.
available in the original form and in a variety
Nike signed Michael Jordan whose personality, playing ability, and
of new materials, colors, prints, and special
overall good image brought Nike fame and success. Converse signed
features, and the Chucks continue to make numerous
Latrell Sprewell who was later dropped after he tried to choke his coach.
appearances on the celebrity feet, with rock stars and
Sales declined and the company was forced to file for bankruptcy
musicians, just about everywhere else. Owning
in 2001. The company closed its last U.S. factory and moved
manufacturing to Asia when the company changed hands, and in July
a pair of Chucks is like owning a piece of
2003, Converse accepted an offer from Nike to buy out the company for
and n a time when things change so
$305 million. Nike’s acquisition of this American institution raced many questions and much controversy with fans of the classic Converse
rapidly in the sneaker industry, you can always count on Converse to be exactly
Chuck Taylors. To date, Converse remains a Swoosh-free zone and
like you remember them from last year,
many old styles have been re-released, but for some people the appeal
the last decade, or from your childhood.
of Chucks has faded since sportswear giant Nike came into the picture. -
history with all the prestige that implies,
than just shoes.
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Converse in Film The 1995 comedy/horror movie, “Ice Cream Man,” was sponsored in part by the Converse shoe company. Many characters wear Converse shoes, especially the classic Chuck Taylor All-Stars. In the 1990 film Dances With Wolves, starring Kevin Costner, one of the young boys riding a horse when the Sioux and Dunbar leave for the buffalo hunt is wearing a pair of
e v ’ e w . . “.
low-cut black converse Allstar sneakers. You can see it as they are riding away from the camera. In the beginning of the film, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), where we see the ape-men, it looks as if they are wearing Converse All-Star type gym shoes that have been painted to look like feet perhaps due to the rocky terrain. Will Smith in the movie, “I, Robot,” plays a technophobic detective investigating a murder of a scientist. Smith’s character, Spooner, opens a fresh pair of black, high-top leather Converse which in the futuristic setting of this movie are obviously a rare collector’s item.
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