The history of sports footwear until the start of 20th century

First time a leather strip was stitched round the top of the shoe was in the beginning of previous century. This was a great development, sine it reduced the effect of stretching. The first truly popular sneakers were spread through the States under the name Keds in 1917. Keds were tennis shoes. Adolf Dassler is known as the father of modern running shoes, he began his work in twenties. Sport heroes like Jesse Owens soon worn his shoes. He is also responsible for the development of Adidas sneakers, since he started the company Adidas in 1948. The company later split into Adidas and Puma. Adidas sneakers, next to Nike sneakers, are still among the best known sports footwear. First athlete that started wearing Nike sneakers was Steve Profontane in 1973. Jon Anderson and Ilie Nastase followed soon. In 84 Michael Jordan also signed to wear Nike sneakers and the war between manufacturers could begin. Today Nike, Reebok and Adidas sneakers are still among the most popular shoe companies.