Chuck Taylors!

Believe it or not, living in New England has a few perks. One of them is living super close to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. This weekend I got the chance to visit it. Seriously, I felt like a kid in a candy store. I've always loved history, and basketball is the drum that makes my heart go ((thump)).

While taking in every detail, picture, artifact and name I came across Charles "Chuck" Taylor's bio. Sitting next to it was none other than a pair of white high-top Converse All-Stars, better known as "Chuck Taylors."

As a west coaster I've always been familiar with Chuck Taylors because anyone who was anyone wore them. It's still a fashion statement today. Honestly, I never knew that this random guy had anything to do with the shoe, or its popularity for that matter.

Did you know that Chuck Taylor's are the best selling basketball shoe in history? They came out in 1917 and Chuck started rockin' them in 1918. These shoes are almost a century old!!!

As I was staring at the pair of Chuck's through the glass I just kept thinking to myself:

"How did they play ball in these shoes?"

Someone could seriously break an ankle! Maybe Paul Pierce was rockin these when he got injured and carried out of Game 1 of the NBA finals versus the Lakers? Lakers in 09'! We will be accepting band waggon applications in October. Thanks.

Anyway...

After having a moment with my Chuck Taylor's I couldn't help but smile. Not only did I learn something today, but now I really want a new pair of Chuck's!

R.I.P Charles "Chuck" Taylor - 6/23/69.

~Crossy~