Born on this day in 1952, Jimmy Connors was tennis' first real bad boy. He was a maverick, at one point staunchly avoiding organized professional tennis in favor of complete sporting freedom. In 1974 he won three of four Grand Slams. He probably would have won all four, but decided to skip the French Open to play World Team Tennis for the Baltimore Banners. Again, he was a maverick, a bad boy, and prone to regularly exercise personal sporting freedom.
When Connors was done on the court, he'd racked up a total of 8 Grand Slam victors and held the world number 1 position for basically 5 years of his career.
Now, let's touch on his footwear. Tennis is often forgotten in Converse history. However, Mr. Connors, and his shoes, should not be ignored.
In 1974, Connors and Chris Evert played mixed doubles together. They also planned to marry, but like their partnership on the court that was runner-up to reality. A decade later, they were both Converse sponsored athletes, sharing full page advertisements and promoting an All-American vision of tennis for the Massachusetts-based brand. Connors is known for his connection to Converse beyond partnership with Evert, also famously endorsing the GSV Jimmy Connors. These are pictured if you page through the thumbs.
Best wishes, Jim. Many happy returns.
