Pro Keds / © VG Bild
Wer kennt eigentlich Pro Keds?
Eigentlich est seit 1949 auf dem Markt, aber schon 1916 in der US-Basketballszene etabliert gelten die Pro Keds immer noch als ziemlich unentdeckte Kultmarke in der Sneakerszene.
check mal Wikipedia:
HISTORY 1949-1970 The U.S. Rubber Company made the first pair of rubber-soled canvas shoes called Keds in 1916. The brand became popular with athletes in the mid-1920s, but it was not until 1949 when they established PRO-Keds, a brand division that focused on performance sport product geared for athletes, specifically basketball players.
The first style of PRO-Keds was a canvas hi-top basketball shoe known as the Royal. Originally marketed as the “Sureshot”, it was an innovative sneaker designed with the more serious athlete in mind. In the early 1950s, George Mikan, basketball’s first true big man, endorsed the Royal and he and all his teammates on the 1953-1954 Minneapolis Lakers wore this shoe enroute to a World Championship that season. The team would go on to win six championships between 1948 and 1955.
PRO-Keds would go on to play an integral role in basketball history by appearing on some of the top players in the game. In the 1970s, JoJo White, Kareem Abdul Jabbar Bob Love, Lou Hudson, Willis Reed, and Nate Archibald all wore PRO-Keds, further solidifying PRO-Keds as an authentic sports brand.
In 1969, PRO-Keds introduced the “PRO-Keds Super,” which was also known as the 69er. To some people growing up in Harlem and the Bronx, the 69er was also referred to as the “Uptowns”. With popular NYC basketball players wearing and endorsing the product on court, the brand also gained street credibility when they were seen on the feet of Hip-Hop pioneers DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaata, and the Rock Steady Crew amongst several others. With both its on court and street visibility, 69er quickly became the first classic sneaker for New Yorkers.
