I found this on sneakerhead.com and thought it was interesting. If anyone from sneakerhead reads this, please know that I'm a big fan of your site and so are many of my friends. Read below.
1800’s- The first rubber-soled shoes, called plimsolls, were manufactured.
1892-1916 - Goodyear, then a rubber shoe company and division of the U.S. Rubber Company, manufactures rubber and canvas shoes under different names, finally settling on Keds as the best name.
1908- Marquis M. Converse establishes Converse shoe company, revolutionizing the game of basketball for more than half a century and becoming an American icon.
1917- Keds are the first mass marketed athletic shoes, later termed sneakers Henry Nelson McKinney, an advertising agent for N. W. Ayer & Son because they don’t make any noise when you walk.
1917- Converse releases the world’s first performance basketball shoe, the Converse All Star.
1920- Adi Dassler begins producing handmade training shoes in his mother’s washroom without electricity
1923- The All Star gives way to the Chuck Taylor All Star, a staple of basketball players, kids, and rebels for more than 50 years. Also known as “Chucks,” “Cons,” “Connies” these shoes, to date, have sold more than 744 million in 144 countries.
1924- Adi and Rudolph Dassler, with the help of some 50 family members, register their business as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik”, Herzogenaurach, Germany.
1931- Adidas produces its first tennis shoe.
1935- Converse releases the Jack Purcell with its telltale “Smile” on the front. Jack Purcell shoes have gained fame well beyond that of the 1930s badminton/tennis champion himself – they became a staple of early Hollywood and the bad boy crowd.
1948- “Puma Schuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler” is founded and the world is introduced to the PUMA Atom, PUMA’s first football shoe worn by members of the West German football team.
1950s- Sneakers are the preferred footwear of teenagers and the symbol of rebellion. Cheap, they are worn by students around the world. In the U.S., cheerleaders wear sweaters, short skirts, and ankle socks with canvas topped shoes (or keds). The fashion is officially sanctioned when James Dean is photographed wearing his Levis jeans and white sneakers.
1962-1964- Phil Knight, a business major at the University of Oregon, and his coach, Bill Bowerman, partner to provide a low cost, high tech athletic shoe under the name Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS)
1968- BRS begins marketing new designs and technology and changes their name to Nike. Nike is named after the Greek Goddess of Victory.
1968- PUMA is the first sports shoe manufacture to offer Velcro fasteners.
1969- Quarterback Joe Namath, wearing PUMA shoes, leads the New York Jets to victory in SuperBowl III.
1971- The Nike Swoosh trademark is purchased from a graphic design student for $35.
1972- Bill Bowerman pours rubber into his wife's waffle iron, creating the basis for the popular Nike Waffle Racer; a shoe with the optimal traction of waffle soles, wedged heel, the cushioned mid-sole, and nylon uppers. Nike marketed its waffle soled shoe by saying that four of the top seven runners at the 1972 Olympic Trials wore Nike shoes.
1973- Steve Prefontaine, runner and an American record-holder, becomes the first major athlete to wear Nike running shoes.
1974- Nike releases the Waffle Trainer, with Bill Bowerman’s famous Waffle outsole.
1974- Converse releases the Converse One Star line of shoes, representing an entire lifestyles of “Indie” athlete; individuals whose lifestyle, sports and style are fused together by creativity, imagination and self-expression. Always popular with an eclectic crowd these shoes are now popular in the surf and skate community.
1979- Nike creates the first Nike Air sole units, resulting in the revolutionary Nike Air cushioning. Nike also releases the first running shoe, the Nike Tailwind, with the patented Nike Air technology.
1981- Blue Ribbon Sports and Nike merge to form Nike, Inc.
1982- Nike releases the first of a long line of shoes, the Air Force 1. This durable shoe has been released in a low, mid, and high-top versions. The Air Force 1 has survived over two decades with little change to its basic design and continues to remain a legacy and a fashion statement with its numerous colorways.
1985- Chicago Bulls basketball rookie, Michael Jordan, endorses a line of Nike shoes and apparel. Nike releases the first Air Jordan.
1987- The first Nike Air Max shoes is released, giving athletes their first real introduction to the Nike Air cushioning. Nike also releases the first Air Cross Trainer, a shoe cushioned enough for aerobics and court sports.
1989- Puma releases its “Trinomic” sport shoe system
1991- Puma introduces its high-tech “PUMA disc system” sport shoe.
1996- PUMA introduces the first foam-free midsole with PUMA CELL technology.
1998- Bauer Nike Hockey is formed, dedicated to producing quality footwear for hockey players.
1999- PUMA basketball star, Vince Carter, is name NBA “Rookie of the Year”
1999- Nike co- founder, Bill Bowerman, dies in December.
2000- Sales of Nike Golf soar after Tiger Woods switches to Nike golf balls wins three majors during the season.
2001- Nike introduces the Nike Shox, the most advanced support technology. The Shox system is based on columns of specially engineered foam that provide superior impact cushioning thus creating a new revolution in shoe design.
2003- Nike acquires long-time shoe manufacturer, Converse, Inc.
2003- Converse re-issues authentic presentations of classic athletic performance shoes such as the Chuck Taylor All Star and the Jack Purcell. These editions are now popular with fans of nostalgic fashion and those wanting to return to the purity of past sports eras.
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