Chuck Taylor and the History of Converse All-Stars
Chuck Taylor All-Stars, Chucks, Converse All-Stars, Cons – whatever you call them, this shoe is one of the most successful shoes in history. Designed in 1917, the shoes have been overwhelmingly popular across decades and cultural revolutions.
It all started in 1908 when Marquis M. Converse opened the Converse Rubber Shoe Company in Malden, Massachusetts. Two years later, Converse was producing 4,000 shoes a day. But it was not until 1917 that the Converse sneaker really hit its mark. Marquis wanted to cash in on the new basketball craze that was sweeping the United States, and so he decided to create the Converse All-Star. In 1918 basketball player Chuck Taylor (who was still in high school at the time) received his first pair of Converse All-Stars and fell in love with the shoe. Taylor wanted to be a star basketball player. At age 17 he played for the Akron Firestones. But rather than finding fame on the basketball floor, Taylor ended up being one of the most important shoe salesmen and basketball evangelicals in history. In 1921, Taylor began working for the Converse Shoes office in Chicago. He proposed a few modifications to the Converse All-Stars design including extra ankle protection and great flexibility. Eventually, Chuck Taylor’s signature would be sprawled across each All-Star patch that branded every pair of Converse All-Star sneakers. The shoes became the undeniable favorite among basketball players. When basketball first became an Olympic Sport at the 1936 summer Olympics, the United States basketball team triumphed over Canada. Each of the US players was wearing a pair of Converse All-Stars.
Taylor went all around the country selling Converse All-Star sneakers, but he never became rich from his shoe sales. In fact, all Taylor ever earned from Converse Shoes was his salary.
To date, the Converse All-Stars are the most successfully selling basketball shoes in history. By the turn of the 21st century over 750 million pairs of Converse All-Stars had been sold. Chuck Taylor preferred his Converse All-Stars to be white, but the most popular color variation is the traditional black (although the shoes are available in all sorts of bright and funky color combinations).
Despite the overwhelming popularity and success of Converse Shoes, the company somehow managed to go bankrupt. In 2003, Nike bought out Converse and several crucial features about how Converse did business changed. Converse factories were moved overseas, and the traditional 2-ply canvas fabric was replaced with 1-ply “textile”.
Jane Barron works for OddShoeFinder.com,a free online website that helps people find mismatched footwear.Get more information on deformed feet, corrective shoes or foot length difference. Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/shopping-articles/chuck-taylor-and-the-history-of-converse-allstars-1285748.html