Run! Converse launched new Chuck Taylor All Stars Tuesday
The shoe that started the sneaker game gets its first revamp in nearly a century.
Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points, in one game, in these flimsy, rubber-toed sneakers.
Oregon and Ohio State wore them as they battled out the first NCAA Championship game in 1939.
And in the 1960s, these were the basketball shoes worn by 90 percent of college and professional players.
The Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars -- with their canvas exteriors, flat-soled bottoms and iconic star logo-- are the shoes that launched the sneaker game.
And despite being taken over as fashion statements by the teenage crowd who struts about with laces untied and tongues hanging out, these shoes aren't new kids.
Chuck Taylors snuck onto the retail scene 98 years ago -- that would be 1917 -- the same year the U.S. entered World War I, the same year Babe Ruth was reigning on the baseball field.
They arrived in a simple, featherweight construction. And they haven't changed a bit -- until now.
For the first time in nearly a century, the Chuck Taylors are getting a major revamp, being (sadly, really) brought into the 21st century.
The new, higher-tech version, called the Converse Chuck All Star II, goes on sale Tuesday nationwide.
At $75 for high-tops or $70 for low-cuts, the sneakers will boast the fancy perks that today's athletic shoes have. Nike bought Converse several years ago and has induced its famous footwear technology into the brand.
The updated Chuck II is made of durable Tencel canvas, as opposed to the cotton variety, with higher-tech shock absorption in Nike Lunarlon for the footbed, according to Converse.
There's foam padding inside at the ankle, non-slip padded tongues and perforated micro-suede liners along the interior sides.
The outside of the shoe will look largely the same and comes in black, white, red and blue. The idea behind the Chuck II, behind changing an iconic design, comes down to comfort, Converse said in a statement last week.
Of course change is inevitable, but how can we forget these darling shoes that have defied the odds of oneupsmanship for decades as a heated rivalry played out in the athletic shoe industry.
Think Air Jordan. The evolution from clunky to sleek. Think Hyperdunk. Think neon, space alien designs.
The Chuck Taylor didn't budge. It didn't make one solitary change. And it kept flying off the shelves.
The shoe was one of the first specifically designed to be worn when playing basketball and is the namesake of Columbus, Ind. native Charles Hollis "Chuck" Taylor. He started wearing them in 1917 as a basketball player at Columbus High School.
When he later became a shoe salesman for Converse, Taylor suggested changing the design of the shoe to provide more flexibility and support, and a patch to protect the ankle.
The star logo was soon added and Chuck Taylor's name was adorned on the patch. With that, the shoe became the Chuck Taylor All Stars.
More than 800 million pairs have been sold since 1917, making the Chuck Taylor the best-selling basketball shoe ever. Plenty of memories live in those flimsy, rubber-toed sneakers.
Which makes nabbing a pair of the new ones an almost historic buy.
For Gordon Smiley, who said he will buy a white pair Tuesday, the purchase is sentimental. He heard about the new version and wanted to get a piece of history.
"To have a shoe virtually unchanged for 98 years come out new, that's something," said Smiley, of Avon. "I feel like it's a sad kind of purchase for me. I wore the old ones playing basketball in church leagues decades ago. But times change. I will put my new ones next to my old ones."
Kent Stansifer, from Greenfield, also plans to be one of the early birds, buying a pair of Chuck II's on Tuesday.
"Red all the way," he said.
Indianapolis-based Finish Line is promoting the updated version, not as an athletic shoe, but as a fashion buy.
"The most notorious sneaker is back with a sequel...We all know that the Chuck Taylor started as the premier basketball sneaker back in the day...This time we know that this sneaker is sure to be style directed and not basketball."
The good news for old Chuck Taylor lovers: Converse isn't doing away with the old version. It will still be sold alongside its new updated counterpart.
Want a Pair?
Finish Line
In store: Indy locations
Online: http://www.finishline.com/
Footlocker
In store: Indy locations
Online: http://www.footlocker.com
Converse
Online: http://www.converse.com/
Follow Dana Benbow on Twitter: @DanaBenbow.