Image via Complex Original
The '70s was really the decade that introduced the modern sneaker. And while it may not have produced quite as many memorable sneakers as the '80s or the '90s, there are still a number of silhouettes from the '70s that still stand as giants today. So check out 20 '70s Sneakers You Need To Know, and don't forget where it all started.
PRO-Keds Royal Master
Year Released: 1970
PRO-Keds was founded in 1949, and stood for a long time as Converse's biggest competitor when it came to basketball sneakers. They actually turned to leather sooner than their forebear, and the Royal Master (seen here in retro form) was one of their finest efforts.
adidas Stan Smith
Year Released: 1971
OK, we're cheating a little here. The leather tennis sneaker that would become the Stan Smith was actually introduced in 1965 as the signature shoe of Robert Haillet, a French professional who wouldn't be remembered much at all. In 1971 it was re-named for Stan Smith (which is bizarre in itself — imagine if the Air Jordan had started life as the Air Moncrief) and its lifespan truly began. Today the shoe is even more well-known than the player whose name it bears, which is saying a lot.
adidas Jabbar
Year Released: 1971
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the baddest man on the planet in 1971 — or close to it — so adidas giving him a signature shoe shouldn't have come as a surprise. The leather highs (and lows) with his face on the tongue were something new in basketball, though, and enough to get Kareem out of PRO-Keds and into the Three Stripes.
adidas Americana
Year Released: 1971
The upstart ABA introduced a lot of things to the world — the three-point line, the slam-dunk contest, Julius Erving — and as befitting the new school of professional basketball, it even had its own shoe. The adidas Americana, a mesh sneaker available in both high and lowtop form, featured the red, white and blue colorway that also graced the ABA ball.
Nike Cortez
Year Released: 1972
The first "modern" running shoe, the Nike Cortez represented all that Bill Bowerman brought to the table as an inveterate tinkerer. That foam wedge in the heel provided added cushioning and promoted a heelstrike running motion, which Bowerman thought would make runners faster by increasing the length of their stride. The running science hasn't held up, but the shoe certainly has.
Nike Bruin
Year Released: 1972
Nike's first basketball shoe was a lowtop, which may come as news to those who think the basketball low started with Kobe Bryant. Named after UCLA's famed team, the Bruin saw more action in the NBA than in college. At least at first.
adidas SL Trainer
Year Released: 1972
Back before "cross-training" existed as a category, there were still all-purpose sneakers designed for athletic training. The adidas SL, designed for the 1972 Munich Olympics, was one of them. It featured a running shoe silhouette on more of an all-purpose bottom, and proved its worth at the Games it was designed for.
Puma Clyde
Year Released: 1973
The flashiest player in the NBA needed a commensurately flashy shoe, so Walt "Clyde" Frazier got the Puma Clyde, a suede makeup of 1965's Puma Basket. Later to find even more traction as a b-boy favorite, the Clyde stood out on NBA floors like no other shoe before it.
Nike Oregon Waffle
Year Released: 1973
Bill Bowerman famously came up with the waffle sole by ruining his wife's waffle iron, and the Oregon Waffle was the first production shoe to introduce the concept to the public. Tested by his runners at the University of Oregon first, the shoe paid tribute to those guinea pigs via its name.
Nike Blazer
Year Released: 1973
An upstart company would be foolish not to name their basketball hightop after the local squad, and thus Beaverton, Oregon's Nike dubbed their b-ball shoe the Blazer. Worn by Geoff Petrie, among others, the name was legit — and so was the shoe.
Converse One Star
Year Released: 1974
Initially produced for one year only, the One Star basketball shoe would eventually be adopted as a staple by musicians in the Pacific Northwest including one Kurt Cobain. The fact that it was only around for one year made it a tough get, which only built on its mystique.
Pony Topstar
Year Released: 1975
Along with the MVP, a suede shoe that actually featured the NBAPA logo embossed on the forefoot, newcomers Pony introduced the Topstar, a basic leather basketball shoe for the masses. While they didn't have the cache of an adidas or Nike in the mid-'70s, they still found their way onto plenty of courts, both concrete and hardwood.
Vans Era
Year Released: 1976
The 1970s were a huge decade for Vans, a California company founded in 1966. Skateboarders had worn their shoes since the beginning, but it was a decade before they started producing models just for skaters. The Era was simply a tweaked version of the original Style #44 deck shoe, adding a padded collar.
New Balance 320
Year Released: 1976
New Balance introduced their first running shoe, the Trackster, in 1960. But that saddle-shoe like slipper was a veritable dinosaur when compared to 1976's M320, which catapulted the New England brand into the national picture. It didn't hurt that Runner's World named it the No. 1 running shoe of the year. Not bad for $23.50.
Converse Pro Leather
Year Released: 1976
Also known as the Dr. J, the Converse Pro Leather represented a huge step for the Massachusetts-based company. The Chuck Taylor's time was up, and while it would be worn in the NBA by some up through the early '80s, the Pro Leather would rapidly take its place as the go-to Converse basketball shoe. Dr. J's endorsement didn't hurt, nor did its placement on the feet of the National Champion '81-82 North Carolina Tar Heels including a freshman named Mike Jordan.
Vans Old Skool
Year Released: 1977
The first real ground-up skateboarding-specific shoe designed by Vans, the Old Skool (style #36) built off the same vulcanized diamond sole but with a tougher suede-reinforced upper. The idea was that they'd last forever — or at least a lot longer than the deck shoes that preceded them.
Vans Sk8-Hi
Year Released: 1978
The next step up from style #36, the following year Vans introduced style #38 complete with a high-cut upper for ankle protection. "The Skate Hi had padded sides so when the board flew off the pool and into their ankles they didn’t kill themselves," Steve Van Doren told Sneaker Freaker. "That was a big thing, that saved lives for skaters, they loved them."
Onitsuka Tiger California
Year Released: 1978
Without the help of Onitsuka Tiger, Nike would have never come to fruition. Phil Knight started Blue Ribbon Sports selling Tiger running shoes, and Bill Bowerman's tinkering was first done to modify Tigers. By 1978, Nike was booming, and Tiger was — at least in America — just trying to keep up. The jogging craze had hit, and the California paid tribute to whence it came.
Nike Tailwind
Year Released: 1978
From humble beginnings come great things. Such was the story with the Nike Tailwind, the first Nike shoe to feature Nike's new Air technology. Debuting at December's Honolulu Marathon, the Tailwind would find its way to stores in 1979, starting what would eventually be no less than a full-fledged Revolution.
adidas Top Ten
Year Released: 1979
The "Top Ten" name was a bit disingenous, seeing that it consisted of Doug Collins, Marques Johnson, Kermit Washington, Adrian Dantley, Bob Lanier, Bobby Jones, Billy Knight, Sidney Wicks, Mitch Kupchak and Kevin Grevey. Only two of them, Johnson and Lanier, were selected to play in the 1979 NBA All-Star Game. But no matter the name, the shoe itself, designed with the input of Rick Barry, ushered in the concept of the high-tech basketball shoe that would dominate the next decade.