Converse History
Earlier company descriptions, brand line-ups, store counts and photographs from the history of Converse, kept for historical reference.
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The Company Description of Its Time
Converse is filed in its Apparel Search profile as an American shoe company that began in 1908 as a rubber shoe company from Malden, Massachusetts specialising in galoshes - and soon after started using its rubber to make sneakers. That pivot, from waterproof overshoes to canvas sneakers, is the founding fact of the whole filing: the company's production output, the profile states, primarily consists of sportswear and lifestyle brand footwear, and it has been in existence since 1908. The ownership entry is dated and priced: in 2003 Converse was purchased for $305 million (USD) as a subsidiary of Nike, Inc. - a cross-reference made in both directions, pointing readers to the Nike profile for more about the parent company.
Two Namesakes: Chuck Taylor and Jack Purcell
Charles Hollis 'Chuck' Taylor (June 24, 1901 - June 23, 1969) was an American basketball player and shoe salesman/evangelist, best known for his association with the Chuck Taylor All-Stars sneaker, which the profile calls the most successful selling basketball shoe in history. The company renamed its canvas basketball sneaker the 'All Star' in 1920; Taylor's suggestions - changing the design to provide enhanced flexibility and support, and including a patch to protect the ankle - were adopted, the star logo was included on that patch, and by 1932 Taylor's name was added to it, making the shoe the Chuck Taylor All-Stars. The profile's own telling then hands the shoe to its wearers: they made them to sink jump shots, but wearers saw something more - playing music, making art, skating the streets, wearing them as fashion, customising them. 'They become a part of you. They're Made by you. They are Converse.'
John Edward 'Jack' Purcell (December 24, 1903 - June 10, 1991) was a Canadian world champion badminton player - Canadian National Badminton Champion in 1929 and 1930, declared world champion in 1933, retired in 1945 to a career as a stockbroker. Purcell designed a canvas and rubber badminton sneaker for the B.F. Goodrich Company of Canada in 1935, built to provide more protection and support on badminton courts; in the 1970s Converse purchased the trademark rights to the Jack Purcell sneakers, which it still produces and sells. The shoes, nicknamed 'Smilies' for the signature smile across the toe, are otherwise similar in appearance to the Chuck Taylor All-Star, and the profile notes they remain popular more for their vintage fashion appeal than for athletic use. The full Purcell record sits on his own page in this letter.
CONS, the 2014 Trademark Case and Chuck Taylor II
Under the CONS name, Converse launched its skateboarding program in 2009 with a team of 'ambassadors': Kenny Anderson, Anthony Pappalardo, Nick Trapasso, Sammy Baca, Ethan Fowler, Raymond Molinar, and Rune Glifberg. That program is the parent story of the CONS One Star page in this letter, whose 2015 collection and team tour continue it. The profile also records why the company defends its designs so actively: Converse shoes are distinguished by features including the star insignia, and the All Star's rubber sole, smooth rounded top and wrap-around strip had become so recognisable that in 2014 Converse filed a lawsuit before the U.S. International Trade Commission accusing Walmart, Skechers, Kmart and 28 other retailers and manufacturers of trademark infringements - an effort, the profile states, to preserve the shoe's authenticity rather than its function.
The profile's final dated entry is a launch: 'Launched 2015: Chuck Taylor All Star II', with the Apparel Search blog(?:'|')s article on the shoe linked from this page. Taken together, the filing's arc runs from galoshes in 1908 to a three-name sneaker house inside Nike - and the profile is careful to present the wearers rather than the company as the authors of what the shoes became: 'As soon as you put them on and start doing your thing, their true life begins. You define them. You determine their journey.' For current product ranges the official Converse site in the References is the authority; the Apparel Search men(?:'|')s and women(?:'|')s Converse guides are in this page(?:'|')s links as well.
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