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Charles H. "Chuck" Taylor (June 24, 1901鈥揓une 23, 1969), was an American minor league basketball player and lifelong promoter of Converse Shoes and is most associated with Chuck Taylor All-Star basketball shoes.
While attending the Columbus High School, Taylor was the captain of a basketball team. The passion for this sport is a constant in his whole life and leads to him being refered to as the "Ambassador of Basketball."
Naturally, he was fascinated by the first professional basketball sneaker, the Converse All-Star, on the market since 1917, of which he bought his first pair in 1918, when he graduated from high school. These shoes must have impressed him largely, for he introduced himself to the office of Converse in Chicago. In 1921, they began to employ him, being pleased by his innovative ideas for the improvement of the shoe. It was Taylor who saw to the new, improved profile of the shoe and it was Taylor who added the ankle patch. Originally it was supposed to support and protect the ankles of the basketball players to enable them to play faster. Back then it looked a little different from the one with the blue star which is widely recognized today.
Taylor also began the tradition of the Converse Basketball Yearbook, in which the best players, trainers, teams and the greatest moments of the sport were commemorated. It was first published in 1921 and this tradition lasted 60 years.
In 1922, Taylor started to teach basketball at the North Carolina State University.
In 1923, Converse honoured Taylor鈥檚 achievements, the improvement of the Converse All Star and his passion for the sport by adding his signature to the ankle patch. The Converse All-Stars then became the Chuck Taylor All-Stars.
During the same year Chuck Taylor set off for his "Evangelist Tour" across America to spread the word about basketball and to teach it. It was 35 years long. Annually he travelled no less than 300,000 miles, watched at least 200 games every season and finally visited almost every country to pass on his enthusiasm.
Not only did he speak about basketball, he was also an active player in fine teams such as the New York Celtics, the Detroit Royals, the Converse All Stars and the Buffallo Germans.
Thanks to Taylor鈥檚 persevering promotion basketball became popular and was even accepted as an Olympic sport in 1936. The rise of Chuck Taylor All-Stars is also connected to him, who always supported them and was the first player endorser of Converse. So Taylor earned his place in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, which was dedicated to him in 1968.
As John Hughes proves in his report "Chuck Taylor: The Myth Behind the Autographed Sneaker," many people remember his name, but few really know what for and why he got that place in the Hall of Fame. Experts say his abilities as a player can鈥檛 have been the reason, because his name was found in no table of points even though he played basketball professionally for 12 years. Hughes is right in stating "not only has his name outlived his career, but the man鈥檚 presence has eluded scrutiny."
Even the Internet fails to give any relevant information about Chuck Taylor; the only source you find is the official Converse page, where there鈥檚 a short biography, containing the following sentence:
"Better players may have come and gone, but none have done more for a single shoe."
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old school His claim to fame was that the Converse All Star's basketball atheletic shoes were named after him. Charles H. "Chuck" Taylor (June 24, 1901鈥揓une 23, 1969), was an American minor league basketball player and lifelong promoter of Converse Shoes and is most associated with Chuck Taylor All-Star basketball shoes.
For a short biography of him, visit the source link below old school He was cooler than school and old school. At the same time!
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