One Hundred Years of Converse
Best Selling Sneakers – Chuck Taylor All Stars, AKA Chucks
Apr 15, 2008
To date over 1.1 billion pairs of shoe laces have been made just to meet the manufacturing requirements for Converse’s "Chuck Taylor" All Star sneakers.
History of Converse
This milestone was something that Marquis Miles Converse probably could never even have dreamed of when he founded the Converse Rubber Shoe Company in Malden, Massachusetts in 1908 to produce rubber soled work shoes.
According to history, Marquis Converse fell down a flight of steps, injuring both himself and his pet donkey, Seabiscuit. The incident gave him the idea of rubber-soled shoes to prevent people from slipping.
By 1909, the company was up and running, providing winterized rubber-soled footwear for men, women and children. By 1910, they were producing 4,000 shoes daily
Chuck Taylor chooses Converse All Stars
The company's main turning point came in 1917 when the Converse All-Star basketball shoe was introduced. Then in 1921, a young basketball player named Charles H. "Chuck" Taylor who played for the Akron Firestones walked into Converse complaining of sore feet. They gave him a job. “Chuck” Taylor, chose the Converse All Star as his athletic shoe and he worked as a salesman and ambassador, promoting the shoes around the United States.
In 1923 his signature was added to the All Star patch, soon called Chucks. Chucks originated as a basketball shoe, as one can see from basketball pictures of that era – every player wore them.
In the 1950s, Converse marketed their best selling canvas sneakers with the slogan "It's Converse for Comfort."
Ten Converse Landmarks
- 1908 - The "Converse Rubber Shoe Company" opens for business.
- 1915 - They branch out into sneakers.
- 1917 - The first version of the sneaker now known as the "Converse All Star" enters production.
- 1921 – Basketball star Charles H. Taylor ("Chuck") hires on as a salesman and endorser.
- 1935 - The "Jack Purcell" sneaker is introduced by B. F. Goodrich. It later becomes a Converse product.
- 1966 - Converse starts adding color choices to the basic black and white "Chuck Taylor" All Star basketball shoe.
- 1970 - The suede "One Star" best selling sneakers come out.
- 1984 - Converse boxes proudly proclaim "Official Sponsor of the 1984 Olympic Games" after paying $1,000,000 for the privilege.
- 1994 – The company jumps the millennium four years early with the “All Star 2000”.
- 1998 – Converse announces that over 560 million pairs of "Chuck Taylor" All Star sneakers were produced.
- 2003 - July 9 - Nike announces that they will purchase Converse for $305 million plus the assumption of certain liabilities.
Make Mine Red – Converse 1Hund(red) Initiative
The Converse 1HUND(RED) initiative is a year-long global project celebrating their partnership with wearers of the popular best selling sneakers that commemorates the brand's 100th anniversary. The company commissioned 100 musicians, graphic and graffiti artists from all over the world to create one-of-a-kind sneaker designs inspired by the global fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa.
In addition to multiple and ongoing artist collaborations, Converse offers a way for sneaker owners to customize their own (RED) sneakers with their MAKE MINE RED platform. This one-of-a-kind design experience lets them use custom colors and patterns to construct their own Chuck Taylor® All Star® sneakers (hi, low and slip) or skidgrips.
The Converse Legacy
The blurb on the Converse website reads: “Converse is a leading global designer, manufacturer and marketer of high quality athletic footwear for men, women and children. Converse has also been, and continues to be, strongly involved in the street-fashion and music markets as it associates its heritage and originality with innovative ideas.”
Although Basketball is a large part of this legacy, its laid-back, cool image comes from the musicians, the rebels, the punk rockers and the counter culture gurus from Hunter S. Thompson and James Dean to Kurt Cobain (who died with his Converse One Stars on his feet).
Today, although the devil may wear Prada, the cool people certainly wear Converse. All Stars are spotted on the feet of cool celebs like Ellen de Generes, Kirsten Dunst, Liv Tyler and Avril Lavigne amongst others.
The simple fact is that Converse is the one shoe that continuously transforms its rebellion cachet and always stays both outside and ahead of mainstream fashion, where it will probably remain for the next hundred years.
* Converse shoes are available from a variety of online stores as well as retail outlets like Foot Locker, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Target, Fred Myers, Shoe Station and otther locations in the USA and across the world.
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