The sports shoe originated in the mid-19th century in the UK as the rubber-soled canvas sand shoe developed for beach use. Grooves were added to soles in the early 1900s to improve grip. Sports shoes were adopted by militaries and athletes, gaining popularity. By the mid-1900s, huge sports shoe companies emerged and trainers became a mainstream fashion staple beyond their athletic origins, establishing their enduring role in global culture.

1. The Evolution of the Sports Shoe

2. Sports shoes are as popular now as they have ever
been. For a long time now, they have overlapped
from the sports arena and into the consumer
market. A huge industry worth billions worldwide,
the sports shoe shows no sign of diminishing.
So what is the history of the sports shoe? How did
they come about and why are they so popular?

3. It all began (as it seems many things did) in the
Victorian era. In the middle of the 19th century, the
UK was getting smaller. Transport was developing
and so was industry. Class divides had never been
greater. The need for leisure was growing. The
seaside seemed closer than ever before. Sport
was taking off with croquet, tennis, golf, cricket,
rugby and soon to be football all forming. These
were exciting times. But all this couldn't be
achieved in the traditional hard, black shoe.

4. Enter the Liverpool Rubber Company, who
developed footwear specifically to be worn on the
beach in comfort. Essentially, they had a rubber
sole and a canvas upper. Known as sand shoes,
these would become what we know as plimsolls
and begin the journey of the modern sport or
training shoe.

5. At the beginning of the 20th century, grooves were
designed into the soles of the shoes to help them
grip surfaces even better. The sports shoes were
integrated into the Army, exploration overseas and
in PE lessons across the country. At the Paris
Olympics of 1924, the British team had state of the
art footwear, produced by J.W. Foster and Sons.
Successful on the track and field, ideas for new
sports footwear went across the seas to America.

6. The early 20th century saw the production of the first
basketball shoe and as sports grew in popularity
after World War I, so the public wanted a piece of
the footwear craze, as worn by their sporting
heroes. By World War II, sports shoes were selling
extremely well. With the help of a successful 1936
Olympics, there was no looking back.

7. As each decade passed, the sports shoe, or trainer
as used in the UK became more of a must have
item. Huge sports shoe companies sprung up from
Germany, America and Britain. They began to take
over the market from the conventional leather shoe
of old. A fashion statement amongst the youth,
trainers have spread beyond the world of sports
and have become engrained in our culture forever.

8. Resources:
http://elosport.es/
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Evolution-of-
the-Sports-Shoe&id=8156286

9. Thanks for reading!

10. Thanks for reading!