Original bboy shoe history:
PRO-Keds had established itself as the professional basketball shoe of choice, but it wasn’t until the 69er model was released that the brand tipped to become a fashion force. Considered the very first must-have sneaker, demand for the 69er in Harlem and The Bronx was so overwhelming that they became known as ‘Uptowns’ – almost two decades before Nike’s Air Force 1 would wrest that mantle. Hip hop originator DJ Kool Herc rocked the 69er throughout the 70s, as did hip hop’s spiritual guardian Afrika Bambaattaa. PRO-Keds had a lock on NY street cred all the way into the 80s, with mercurial MC KRS-One proclaiming PRO-Keds to be ‘the greatest sneaker ever introduced to mankind!’ Throughout the 70s, PRO-Keds held court with an enviable stable of NBA stars. A 1971 advertisement featuring Lou Hudson, Bob Love, Nate ‘Tiny’ Archibald, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jo Jo White boldly laid down the law, boasting, ‘We challenge any other shoe. Anytime. Anywhere.’
Business really picked up a notch when PRO-Keds released the Royal Plus, aka the ‘Suede Super’. The addition of the PRO-Keds twin-stripes on the upper was a fresh, bold look for the brand. PRO-Keds shoes were now easily identifiable from the bleachers as they flashed on the feet of ‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich and the Bronx’s own Tiny Archibald, who in the 1972–73 season became the first player to ever finish number one in scoring (with an average of 34 points per game) and assists (averaging 11.4) in a season. If fleet footwork mattered, then PRO-Keds was the natural choice. No wonder Frosty Freeze from the legendary Rock Steady breaker crew always flossed a pair.
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