The Athletic Shoe

There are many different kinds of shoes; hiking shoes, fashionable shoes, athletic shoes, and many more. But let us focus on probably the most widely used shoe, the one that changed the world: the athletic one, used by athletes and professional sport-players around the world. But it did more than that. It helped the world run.  But not just that.

The athletic shoe has been known to exist since ancient times, but generally it was not used to provide traction or support, but to protect from sharp and blunt objects that may cause injury. The idea of “sneaker” did not come along until 1843 when Charles Goodyear developed his process for vulcanizing rubber, because the rubber allowed the wearer to walk quietly and “sneak” up on someone. By the early 1900’s, shoes were being produced by small rubber companies who specialized in the production of bicycle tires. Some of these early companies were Converse, B.F. Goodrich, and Spalding Co.  The market for sneakers before World War I was small and practically invisible, but after , the U.S. turned to sports and athletes as a way to demonstrate moral fiber and patriotism. The U.S. market for sneakers grew steadily as young boys lined up to buy sneakers endorsed by football player Jim Thorpe and Converse All Stars endorsed by basketball player Chuck Taylor.

As the 1920s and 1930s approached, these companies added traction, and also started marketing them for different sports. A huge breakthrough of this time was the separation of designs for men and women. The 1950s gave American families more leisure time, and as the baby boom started, more families chose to dress their youth in sneakers as school dress codes relaxed. In 1967, sneaker sales in the US soared to 600 million pairs a year. In the early 1960s, sneakers were imported to the U.S. from Japan, but were only a small portion of the market until Nike founders Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman began importing Tiger shoes with the name Blue Ribbon Sports. In the 1970s, it was popular for sneakers to be used for jogging quickly, and also  to have a pair of shoes for the occasion. Until this time, factories had been concerned with high production, but now the companies started to market their products as a lifestyle purpose. Soon there were shoes for football, jogging, basketball, running – every sport had its own shoe. By the 1980s, sneakers were everywhere; Led Zeppelin wore them in their 1976 documentary, Dustin Hoffman wore them while playing in the movie All President’s Men. Nike and Reebok were among the market leaders.  Sneaker companies started selling out major endorsements to players. One of, if not the largest, endorsements was to Chicago player Michael Jordan, for a contract with Nike to make his own line of signature shoes and clothes. In the 1990’s, Shoe companies perfected their fashion and marketing skills. Sports endorsements grew larger and marketing budgets went through the roof. Sneakers became a fashion statement, and definition of identity and personality rather than humble athletic aids.

And now, morphed through the years, out of all the types of shoes, the greatest is the athletic shoe. The 1800’s, all the way to the 1990’s, and into the new millennium, the athletic shoe is a shoe that has changed the world. It helped the world run. But it also did more than that.  It helped the world play baseball, basketball, football, soccer, and many other sports, too. The athletic shoe is one shoe that will always exist, to help the world.