Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars - A Shoe for All Ages

The All Star basketball shoe was launched in 1917 by The Converse Rubber Shoe Company, founded just nine years earlier by Marquis Converse in Massachusetts. In 1921, Chuck Taylor, a 20 year old former high school basketball star who had toured the country with several pre-NBA teams was hired by Converse's Chicago sales office. He was a salesman and athlete who suggested many changes to the shoe including the distinctive patch to protect player's ankles. Converse added the Chuck Taylor name to the patch in 1923 and included his signature sometime in the 1930s.

Chuck Taylor All Stars first made an impression on me when I arrived at the USAF Academy. Among all the blue uniforms, green fatigues, combat boots, flight suits and jacket was a pair of black on white Chuck Taylor All Stars with the Chuck Taylor signature ankle patch, one star sole and All-Star label on the heel, just like my old gym shoes back home. They were the only piece of equipment or clothing that looked familiar.

Lately, I've noticed that my old Chuck Taylor All Stars are everywhere. Like so much else from the '60s, I thought they had quietly slipped into the past making way for high-tech running shoes, cross trainers, and any number of pump up, air assisted or spring-loaded basketball shoes. When I got my All Stars at USAFA, I had no idea that they had been around for fifty years and would still be going strong almost fifty years later with over 600 million pairs sold and no end in sight.

Reviews on the shoe are overwhelmingly positive although everyone agrees that Chucks tend to run one-half to a full size large. The only other complaint is that the lack of padding in the canvas version makes them cold in the winter and painful when you wipe out on your skateboard. While I admit the latter is not an issue for me, it did make me think that just maybe the extra size could be for thick socks!

Chucks come in thousands of combinations of materials, styles, colors, fades, graphic designs and patterns plus they can be a blank canvas for your own artistic expression. Here are a few of the basic styles:


    * The original converse chuck taylor sale - The shoe I was issued by the USAF back in the 1960s. (A practice that Chuck sold to US military in WWII when he was contracted to develop a fitness program.) Originally designed as a high-performance basketball shoe, this enduring design is still popular today.

    * The Chuck Taylor Low Top - same shoe but without the high top and ankle patch. You can even get a slip-on version that has elastic bands between the tongue and upper.

    * The Chuck Taylor X-Hi Top - It looks like a high-top on steroids coming up to the mid calf. It also has a convenient zipper so you don't have to re-lace all those grommets.

    * The Chuck Taylor XX-Hi Top - For when mid-calf just isn't high enough. This shoe is, well... er... way over the top.


Whatever your preference, Chuck Taylor All Stars are timeless. I can't wait to see what they come up with for their 100th birthday or what they do until then... With new styles coming out every year, I guess I can wait five years.