In 1892, nine small rubber factories merged to form the U. S. Rubber Company. Among them
was Connecticut-based Goodyear Metallic Rubber Shoe Company, which was the first licensee of vulcanization – an innovative manufacturing process of hardening rubber by using sulphur at high temperatures. This process enabled the U. S. Rubber Company to produce what is said to be the world’s first sneaker: a rubber-soled shoe called the Keds, which was named in 1916 and mass-marketed from 1917 onwards.

   In 1949, a new athletic footwear line was brought out under the Keds brand, targeting  basketball players in particular: PRO-Keds.  The first product was the classic Royal , a canvas basketball shoe, but the brand expanded over the years to cater for a raft of different sports. American basketball icon George Mikan, who played with the Minneapolis Lakers in the 40s and 50s, wore this model. Baseball
star Johnny Bench and boxer Sugar Ray Leonard raised the brand’s profile further in the 1960s and
1970s. By the late 70s, PRO-Keds had become the brand to wear in New York, influenced heavily
by hip-hop.
  Later, with heightened competition, the brand seemed to fall into obscurity. PRO-Keds closed down in 1986, only to reappear in 2002 when several classic models were reissued in an attempt to capitalize on the brand’s rich heritage.