The evolution of sneakers and tennis shoes

BY KYLE LOVERN

It amazes me how tennis shoes and basketball shoes have evolved through the years. Of course I am showing my age again when writing about this subject.

Growing up, most of us “baby boomers” were lucky to get a pair of sneakers or tennis shoes. Those just were not as common as they are nowadays.

These days they are considered as cool as dress shoes and are even worn with suits.

I can remember one of my first pairs. It was basketball season and I was playing for the Nolan Hornets Midget League Basketball team. (That term is probably not politically correct these days, but that is what the league was called back in the 1960s and 70s.) We played at the Williamson Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoons, which was a big deal for us. To get to play on the same court as the Williamson Wolfpack high school teams was like someone now playing on a professional hardwood floor. We had to have clean tennis shoes that were not to be worn outside in the dirt. However, we practiced outside on an asphalt court at Nolan Grade School. A few times we were able to practice at Chattaroy Junior High’s gym or the field house.

So my parents sent me over to our local general store, Slone’s Grocery, which carried about everything, including shoes. I tried on a couple of pairs to get the right size and came away with a pair of white tennis shoes with a red stripe — which was perfect since our school colors were red and white.

Now I’m sure I charged these, or for the younger generation, bought them on credit. I am not sure of the cost, but I’m sure they were cheap – both the price and the brand. There were no Nike, Adidas, Puma, New Balance or other name brands you have today. They were low-top canvass, not high-top like most basketball shoes today. I’m sure they didn’t have the best arch support or cushion, but they were brand-new and they were mine. I was ready to play.

There were other name brands during that era that I’m sure some of you can recall. How about PF Flyers, an American brand of shoes and one of the original sneaker brands in the United States?

But I can remember the ones I really wanted, which were marketed as the finest in footwear. I can recall Red Ball Jets sneaker TV commercials that were convincing youngsters that you could run faster and jump higher with a pair of these! The commercial showed the kids running with super athleticism.

To get these we would have to have some extra money and be able to drive to “town” Williamson, which was 8 miles away. Jimmy’s Friendly Shoe Store was the place to get our shoes when it was time to go back to school. So I knew they would have these too.

The iconic Red Ball logo printed on the heels of the sneakers was a mark of pride by the kids lucky enough to wear them.

A couple of years later, I was playing junior high basketball for the Yellowjackets at Chattaroy. That is where I discovered Chuck Taylor Converse. These were canvass and were what the top basketball players wore at that time. Now they have come back as fashionable footwear for many teens and even adults. (Just check out my wife Vicki’s red pair and her white pair that she sports.)

It was a big deal for me to get these. While my teammates got high-top, which was supposed to help you from getting a sprained ankle, I went with the low-top, which was what I was used to. Luckily at that time I had not suffered a sprained ankle. (Those came years later, which had me switch to high tops.) CJHS was black and orange, so this was the first pair of tennis shoes I purchased that were not white but black. Those were the only two choices you had at that time.

My older brother Melvin helped me buy these. They were expensive and I probably would not have gotten a pair if not for him.

As years passed and I started making my own money, I bought red ones and blue Converse.

Eventually, they came out with suede, then leather Converse, and I had to have a pair of those. I think I was in college by then.

As the years progressed, other brands came into the world and the prices climbed. NBA players wore them and made TV commercials for them, which made youngsters and adults want to “Be Like Mike.” The Air Jordans worn by Michael Jordan, the red and black colors, was the fad in the 1980s.

I was a Larry Bird fan and he wore leather Converse, so I continued to wear that brand.

The styles and prices continued to get higher as the years went on. Then there were different types of shoes — some for jogging with their waffle iron-looking soles, some designed for hoops, others for tennis and the ones that you just wanted to wear to look cool.

That trend has continued now. There are people who actually collect retro styles of Nike and pay big bucks for certain styles.

It is now a multi-billion dollar business. College coaches are paid to have their teams use certain brands and to wear clothes with certain advertising logos. Players wear about every color these days from pink, fluorescent green, multi-colors, and of course, the school colors.

These days I try to buy some that support my arches and help my aching knees and back. I also look for a reasonable price. I have a rather big and wide foot, so in the past it was sometimes difficult to find a pair that fit well and felt good to walk in. But as people have gotten bigger, so have the shoes.

It is indeed amazing to see the evolution of something we wear on our feet. Marketing has made the tennis shoe industry a big business.

Whether you are wearing them for status or comfort, you will pay much more for sneakers today than in past years.

But one thing is for sure: tennis shoes made of simple rubber and canvass are here to stay.

(Kyle Lovern is a longtime journalist in the Tug Valley. He is now a retired freelance writer and columnist.)