Running shoes see consistent evolution over the years

With the cooler weather I started to dig through the closet for a change from summer to fall wear. Under a shelf on the floor and behind accumulated stuff I found my old pair of wrestling shoes. Then upon further digging I found a pair of old track shoes. The track shoes date back to the late 1950s.  Some of the older runners will remember the three stripes on the side, a curved toe box, and a thin rubber sole. How, or why, I still have them is unknown unless I used them as an example when I taught history of sports in an introductory class. It got me thinking about the evolution of shoes for athletics and how the Converse Jack Cramer black high top shoes were the one and only all-purpose shoe for all sports.

For running shoes it started with the wide sole Nike shoe to help prevent pronation problems. Then Brooks came out with a fluid insert in the sole for shock absorption. It took a few years but when the shoe companies realized that there were more women running they modified the shoes to accommodate a women’s foot. New Balance started making shoes that not only included shoe size but also shoe width.  That helped runners with a wide foot from having to cram their feet into the standard width shoe.

As running became more popular and more studies about running became available changes were made to accommodate the findings. Terms like pronation, supination, heel striker, toe striker, and racing flats became part of the manufacture of shoes. The soles at the heel had a softer material outside for shock absorption and the inside of the sole was a harder rubber to prevent over pronation. The outside of the sole at the heel that strikes the ground first was usually the first part of the shoe to wear out. Companies added a small hard material to help prevent the wearing off of that part of the shoe. For runners that entered the 5K and 10K races a ‘racing flat’ shoe was developed that had less weight by taking away a lot of the extra shock absorption in the heel and made the sole thinner. I remember the first time I wore a racing flat, the difference between the heel height of a training shoe and the racing flat caused the calf muscle and Achilles tendon to stretch and resulted in a painful walk the next day. The biggest change was in pole vaulting when the pole went from bamboo to fiberglass and the landing pit went from saw dust to deep foam. It is now a different event than the past.

Running was not the only sport that saw advancements in shoe design. Basketball saw more cushion in the shoe and some were almost like a ski boot on the upper portion to aid in the prevention of sprained ankles. The outside edge became slightly rounded to prevent the edge of the sole from catching and turning the ankle. Football had various sized cleats on the bottom of the shoe to accommodate the surface of the field. Artificial turf needed a different sole for traction. Baseball had the same problem when some teams had an artificial surface. The ball bounces different and shoe traction if different. Pitchers needed an extra piece of leather on the toe of the dragging foot to keep that part of the shoe from wearing out. Then add all the extra equipment player’s use today versus old time players to include batting gloves, pads for upper arms, elbows, shins, feet, and helmets. Changes were made to accommodate the safety and injury prevention in the game. Tennis needed to change the sole of the shoe to help a player on different surfaces. Tennis is played on grass, clay, and asphalt and indoors. Each surface needed a different shoe design. And if wearing different shoes made a difference the design of the racquet was a drastic change. From the old wooden racquet used by Rod Laver that had a serving speed in the 80 miles per hour range. Today’s racquets have serving speeds over 100 miles per hour. The size of the court did not change so how a player returned a faster serve needed some adjustment. I had a friend play against Arthur Ashe when I worked at West Point. He said the best way to return his serve was to stick the racquet out to the side and hope Ashe would hit it.

I can’t imagine putting on those old track shoes and going for a run today. No cushion, no anti-pronation, and a narrow sole would make running hard. Looking back on all the improvements and changes in sports makes you wonder how we survived to be old ex-athletes.