The History of Basketball Sneakers

By the 1880's, rubber factories in the U.S. were at their peak making various boot,leisure and athletic footwear. A few of these factories as shown below are Candees Rubber, Albany Rubber House and Boston Belting Co.

Another popular rubber manufacturer during this time was of course, the Colchester Rubber Co. Colchester Rubber Co. was well known for their athletic footwear, creating baseball, bicycling, and lawn tennis shoes.

1892 was a good year for Colchester. They showcased at the Chicago World's Fair and the new sport of basket-ball had just been invented a mere 50 miles away from Colchester in Springfield, Mass. It was then that Irving Watkinson designed the World's First Basket-ball sneaker as a prototype for a rubber shoe to be worn while playing basketball. We believe he based this design off of their popular "bals" athletic shoe, simply adding a toe cap, rubber outer sole and ankle emblem for game protection.

However, it was not meant to be. U.S. Rubber began buying up all the rubber companies in the United States in order to form a monopoly on the industry. U.S. Rubber made George Watkinson, owner of Colchester, an offer he couldn't refuse, a position as Vice President of U.S. Rubber. The factory was promptly shut down and all its equipment moved to U.S. Rubber's factory in Massachusetts. It was there they introduced the high-top sneaker to the world. 

It was here the term "sneaker" was coined. An advertiser working for U.S. Rubber  noted the shoes were silent when you walked, allowing you to "sneak" up on someone. Sneaker gangs of young hooligans started roaming the streets of NYC, causing mischief. 

By then, Marquis Converse (who worked with George of Colchesters at the US Rubber Factory) had left his job at U.S. Rubber to start his own company, called the Converse Rubber Co. Converse came out with his familiar sneaker around 1917. Undoubtedly inspired by his fellow designers, the Converse sneaker is a nostalgic piece of American history.  

By the 30's and 40's sneakers were in full swing. BF Goodrich patented the "Posture Foundation" insole, those sneakers became known as "PF Flyers." and were worn by many from the 30s-early 70s before enjoying a resurgence in popularity when they were bought by New Balance in 2000. 

Another forgotten, yet interesting, brand of sneakers during the 30's was Witch Elk. They created the black panther sneaker made of Kangaroo and used for basketball games. The company folded during the depression, never to be heard from again. 

In 1949, U.S. Rubber (Keds) introduced their basketball sneaker, the Pro-Keds Royal. Kareem Abdul Jabbar is pictured here in his Pro-Keds.

One thing for sure is that basketball sneakers are still as cool today as they were over 100 years ago and they will still be worn for years to come. While more modern sneakers may be worn on the court these days, the old school look is perfect to be worn for most every other aspect of life.