Sneakers – Where Did They Come From?
Listed here are a small number of facts
and dates with regards to the subject of training shoes. Hope you
like them.
The gap between that which we see today, for example Adidas Nizza and the shoes we saw during the past is huge. Suffice to say it has taken a considerable amount of time to reach where we are today.
Firstly a simple list of one or two of the more specialised words used to
describe these shoes from a number of countries.
- The UK – trainers
- British Commonwealth – joggers
- Canada – gutties
- USA – sneakers
- South Africa – torkies
- Wales – daps
- England – plimsoll
- Britain – Trainers
- Australia – Gym shoes
- Canada and Australia – Running shoes
- USA, Australia -Tennis Shoes and sneakers
- Australia and South Africa – Gym shoes
The modern-day training shoe may possibly trace it’s root beginnings back to the 1852 and the new technology of rubber. With no rubber there would be no training shoe.
The following list presents some of the noteworthy dates and events in the history of the training shoe:
1890s – The company which went on to become Reebok was formed in England by J.W.Foster & Sons.
Mid 1900s – Sports shoes developed for basketball teams by the Spalding company.
1917 – The now famous Adidas company was formed in Germany by Adi Dassler. The basketball shoe known as the Converse All Stars arrives.
The 1920-30s period – Post WW1 mass marketing of sports and sporting goods including trainers.
1936 – Tennis shoes with ventilation holes were developed by Spring Court, from France.
Post World War Two – Puma was formed by Rudi Dassler, the brother of Adidas founder Adi, after a family feud.
1960s – Japanese sports sneakers are imported into the US by the Nike company founders. In 1964 the first all-leather tennis shoe was sold by Adidas. The Puma suede trainer is unveiled in
1968.
1970s – Marketing pushes the design of trainers into many niches. Shoes for many different sporting activities are highly specialised.
1980s – Sneakers are entrenched as an every-day item of relaxed clothing. Giant brands are established including Nike and Reebok.
Fresh markets expand, and we see the introduction of products such as Adidas mens footwear.
I really hope that this quick review was of interest..












