CONVERSE

Converse, founded in 1908 as a rubber shoe company specializing in winter boots. 1915, the company started manufacturing athletic tennis shoes and in 1917 they introduced the Converse All-Star basketball shoe.

During WWII, Converse took a small hiatus in athletic shoe manufacturing to produce boots, parkas, rubber protective suits, and ponchos for pilots and troops. When the war ended, they went back to manufacturing what they knew, great quality athletic shoes which were widely popular in the 1950's and 1960's.

Up until 1966 the choices were only black and white. Pressure from basketball teams urged Converse to start producing in other colors and materials, which they did.

Converse lost much of its monopoly in the sneaker market in the 1970s . The boom of new athletic shoe competitors such as Nike, Adidas and Reebok took its toll on the company. Converse found themselves no longer the official shoe of the National Basketball Association. The loss of market share, combined with poor business decisions forced Converse to file for bankruptcy in 2001.

 2003, the company accepted a $305 million purchase offer from rival Nike.

Despite the setbacks, the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star is the most successful shoe in history. By the turn of the 21st century, over 750 million pairs have been sold worldwide.

 Converse has always had a loyal following, not only with basketball players but in popular culture. They can be seen in the 1970's punk scene with the Ramones to the early 1990's grunge scene with Nirvana. Also seen in early gangster rap and hip hop culture.