The Converse History

In 1908, Marquis M. Converse, in his late 30's and previously a respected manager at a footwear manufacturing firm, opened the Converse Rubber Shoe Company. He begins providing winterized rubber soled footwear. By 1910 Converse Rubber Company was producing 4000 pairs of shoes daily. In 1915 the company began manufacturing athletic shoes for tennis.

The company's main turning point came in 1917 when the Converse All-Star basketball shoe was introduced. In 1921, a basketball player named Charles H. or "Chuck" Taylor walked into Converse complaining of sore feet. Converse gave him a job. He worked as a salesman and ambassador, promoting the shoes around the United States. 1923 his signature was added to the All Star patch. Converse steamed ahead through the 1920's and 1930's as the nation's interest in basketball grows. Converse and basketball became synonymous as the Converse Chuck Taylor All Star became the standard basketball shoe for professional, college, and high school teams across the country.

 
For decades, Chucks only came in black or white, but under pressure from basketball teams Converse decided in 1966 to manufacture different colors. As well a variety of materials started to appear. Converse's line of shoes also include Jack Purcell and Heritage. The Chuck Taylor All Star shoe has developed a number of nicknames over the years, such as: "Cons", "Connies", "Chuckers", "Chucks", "Converse".

 
From the 1970s onward Converse lost much of its apparent near-monopoly, with the surge of new competitors, like Adidas and Nike. Converse found themselves no longer the official shoe of the National Basketball Association, a title they had relished for many years. This loss of market share, combined with poor business decisions forced Converse to file for bankruptcy on January 22, 2001.

Despite the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star is the most successful shoe in history. By the turn of the 21st century, over 600 million pairs have been sold worldwide. They no longer seem to be worn by their original target market of basketballers, but by the average boy or girl in the street. Some are so enthusiastic about the sneakers that they have a vast, ever-growing collection. They are also quite popular amongst musicians.

 
In the 1950s the shoes became popular within the greaser subculture and amongst many fans of Rockabilly. Fans of punk rock have adopted the shoe as a fashion trend since the late-1970s and many popular punk rock bands, such as the Ramones, have supported the trend by wearing Converse All Stars. All-Stars became popular again in the 90's grunge culture, especially in the early nineties days of G-funk. There have been made several special editions of Converse shoes, such as the Kurt Cobain (Singer from Nirvana) model.

 
In 1986, Converse released "The Weapon" basketball shoe. Manufactured in many color schemes to match the kit colors of basketball teams, it has been available in both high-top and low cut varieties. The unique aspect of this shoe is the leather construction throughout, including the inside heel which is also heavily padded for comfort. Converse re-released "The Weapon" in 2002 and "The Loaded Weapon" in 2003.