- hi tops"Chip's Rock 'n' Roll Shoes" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: Lorri37 (Lo) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
The U.S. Rubber Company made the first pair of rubber-soled canvas shoes called Keds in 1916. The brand became popular with athletes in the mid-1920s, but it was not until 1949 when they branched out with Pro-Keds, creating a serious pair of basketball shoes. - All kinds of Keds"Free New Converse All Stars Creative Commons" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: Pink Sherbet Photography (D. Sharon Pruitt) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
The first Pro-Keds were basketball shoes, but later new designs were created for football, track and field, tennis, and baseball with cushioning and support. Available in hi and low top, Classic Royals had the "Royal Tread" and were made of canvass. It was the blue and red strip flanking the toe that distinguishes the Pro-Keds Classic Royals. The 1990's Court King was popular in Japan with new materials, prints and vibrant toe caps. Always the innovator, Pro-Keds styles now include scented shoes with matching colors. You can even design your own Keds online. - Lost in the crowd of brands"Free Retro Sneakers in The Grass Creative Commons" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: Pink Sherbet Photography (D. Sharon Pruitt) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
The brand lost popularity in the mid-1980s when new athletic shoe brands emerged. Pro-Keds went global in the 1990s, introducing the classic shoe with design twists and new materials. In 2005, after a twenty-year decline in America, Stride Rite Corporation collaborated with Tom Nastos and hip-hop mogul Damon Dash to reintroduce Pro-Keds Classics. - The basketball shoe"Cross-lacing" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: H Dickins (Howard Dickins) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
Pro-Keds has always been associated with athletes. In the 1950s, the Minneapolis Lakers, the first team to win the NBA Championship five times in a row, wore the Pro-Keds Royals. On that team was George Mikan. Other NBA players to wear the industry-leading Royal were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bob Love, Lou Hudsonsix, Jo White, Willis Reed, Nate "Tiny" Archibald, Bob Laniern and Pete "Pistol" Maravich. "Sugar" Ray Leonard became the spokesman in 1981. - All-sports shoe"Free Grungy Happy Urban Acid Pop Green Sneakers on Asphalt Creative Commons" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: Pink Sherbet Photography (D. Sharon Pruitt) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
Explanding in 1949, Keds became primarily a basketball shoe. Much later, Pro-Keds evolved to include shock-absorbing technology needed in other sports like tennis, baseball, football and track.
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
