Americans purchase more than 350 million pairs of sneakers each year, generating $13 billion in annual sales, according to American Academy of Sports Podiatric Medicine board member Dr. Stephen M. Pribut. The athletic shoe is as much a fashion statement as it is a sporting good. The earliest known athletic shoe dates back to the 16th century.
Origins
Tracing the history of the athletic shoe begins with the British crown. King Henry VIII had his personal shoemaker design a pair of boots specifically for playing soccer. The boots were listed in the king's great wardrobe of 1526, according to Footy-Boots.com. It is believed that the shoes were made from strong leather, rose to the ankle and were much heavier than today's variation. The shoe was a luxury for most, as many soccer players would wear their work boots for matches after leaving the factory or farm.
Evolution
The first modern Olympic games were contested in 1896. In the years following this first international competition, runners started looking for a way to get faster on the track. According to BBC Sport, Joseph William Foster, a runner himself, developed a shoe with spikes that gripped the ground better and provided greater leverage during races. His company, J.W. Foster and Sons, would later become known by the brand name Reebok. In the 1920s, German shoemaker Adi Dassler took Foster's idea to the next level. He developed shoes with spike lengths that varied based on the length of the race.
The All-Star
Marquis Converse was making rubber winter shoes at his Malden, Massachusetts factory when he saw an opening in the athletic market. In 1912, he began selling shoes specifically made for tennis players. The 1917 release of the Converse All-Star marked the first shoe designed for basketball players. Four years later, the company invented the celebrity endorsement when Akron basketball player Charles Taylor signed a contract to wear and promote Converse All-Stars, giving birth to the ubiquitous Chuck Taylor model of the shoe.
The Waffle Outsole
Phil Knight began traveling to track meets in the 1960s, where he sold lightweight sneakers from the trunk of his car. His college track coach at the University of Oregon challenged him to develop a lighter running shoe to improve performance on the track. According to sneaker culture website KicksOnFire.com, Knight was importing and selling shoes from Japan. He began experimenting with new designs and, in one instance, poured rubber on to a hot waffle iron. The pattern would become the Nike Waffle Outsole that is still used in track shoes.
Air Soles
Nike's next invention was the use of air pillows in the shoe's sole. BBC Sport reports that the company first incorporated air pockets in the soles in 1979, but it was not until the Air Jordan II in the late 1980s that the pocket was exposed.
Reebok took the innovation to another level in 1989 with the Pump. According to basketball culture and fashion website HoopsVibe, the sneaker was equipped with a small pump on the tongue that inflated a cuff around the ankle and foot for greater support. It was a bestseller, moving more than 20 million pairs from 1989 to 1993.
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