Chuck Taylor

Charles Hollis Taylor (June 24, 1901 – June 23, 1969) was an American basketball player and basketball shoe salesman-marketer who was associated with Chuck Taylor All-Stars, which he helped to improve and promote.

Early life and education Charles H. "Chuck" Taylor was born in rural Brown County, Indiana, on June 24, 1901. Taylor, a graduate of Columbus High School in Columbus, Indiana, in 1919, played guard position on the school's basketball team. He became captain of the varsity team while a high school sophomore, and was also a two-time all-state team selection.

Career Taylor began his career as a semi-professional basketball player in 1919 and as the player-manager for the Converse All-Stars basketball team in the mid-1920s, but he became widely known as a salesman and promoter of Converse All Star basketball shoes. Taylor traveled the country providing local basketball clinics, making special appearances, and meeting with customers in local sporting goods stores to promote the company's basketball shoes. During World War II he coached the Wright Field Air-Tecs basketball team during the 1944–45 season and served as a physical fitness instructor for the U.S. military before resuming his career as a traveling salesman for Converse. Taylor retired from work in 1968.

Early years In 1917, while Taylor was still in high school, Converse began manufacturing one of the first basketball shoes. At least one source indicates that in 1918 Taylor wore Converse Non-Skids, the canvas and rubber shoe that was the forerunner to the Converse All Stars.

Taylor made his debut as a semi-professional basketball player on March 19, 1919, playing for the Columbus Commercials when he was seventeen years old. (Taylor played as a substitute for another of the team's players during the final three minutes of the game, but he scored no points.) Although Taylor played on professional and semi-professional teams for eleven seasons, no records have been located that confirm Taylor's link to playing for the Buffalo Germans and Original Celtics as some have claimed. Taylor did not clarify the assertions.

With one notable exception, Taylor's career as a player on a semi-professional team ended in the 1920s in Chicago when he became a traveling salesman and product promoter for the Converse Rubber Shoe Company. However, during the 1926–27 season, Taylor was a player-manager of the All-Stars, the Chicago-based touring team sponsored by Converse to promote their shoes.

Converse salesman In 1921 S. R. "Bob" Pletz, an avid sportsman, hired Taylor as a salesman for the Converse Rubber Shoe Company when Taylor visited the company's offices in Chicago. The previous year the company had introduced an earlier version of Converse All Stars as one of the first shoes specifically designed to be worn when playing basketball. Within a year of Taylor's arrival the company had adopted his suggestions of changing the design of the Converse All Star shoe to provide enhanced flexibility and support. The restyled shoe also included a distinctive star-shape logo on the patch that protected the ankle. After Taylor's signature was added to the All Star logo on the patch of the shoes, they became known as Chuck Taylor All Stars. Abraham Aamidor, a Taylor biographer, also points out that Taylor was not sparing in his use of the Converse expense account. Converse listed Taylor's address as the offices of its regional headquarters in downtown Chicago, and later its offices in Melrose Park, Illinois, instead of a permanent residence. Joe Dean, one of Taylor's former co-workers, also recalled that Taylor kept a locker in the company's Chicago warehouse to store and exchange seasonal clothing items.

Basketball promoter The basketball clinic was Taylor's main method of promoting basketball. He led his first informal clinic in 1922 at North Carolina State University, and continued the effort for years, making it an established aspect of his sales promotions. Taylor's next "demonstration," as he described it, was for Fielding Yost at the University of Michigan, followed by Columbia and then for Doc Carlson at Pitt. In addition to the clinics, Taylor toured with the Converse All-Star basketball team, traveled the country to meet with customers in sporting goods shops, and made numerous publicity appearances, including playing with local teams.

In 1935, Taylor invented a "stitchless" basketball that was easier to control. GIs were soon doing calisthenics while wearing Chuck Taylor All Stars, which had become the "official" basketball shoe of the U.S. armed forces.

Postwar career In 1950 Taylor moved to Los Angeles, California. He also continued to travel to military bases and in 1957 made a trip to South America on behalf of the U.S. State Department.

Taylor spent the early 1960s in semi-retirement, and officially retired from Converse in 1968.

Personal life Taylor's first wife was Ruth Adler, a former Hollywood actress who appeared in films such as Bringing Up Baby (1938) and Design for Scandal (1941). They married on May 26, 1950, in Carson City, Nevada, and settled in Los Angeles, California. The couple separated in 1955 and divorced in 1957.

Taylor married Lucille Kimbrell on December 11, 1962, in Reno, Nevada. She was the former wife of Eugene Kimbrell, a co-founder of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Chuck and Lucille Taylor resided in Port Charlotte, Florida, where Taylor spent the final years of his life. the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969, Nike acquired Converse in 2003 and continues to market Chuck Taylor All Star shoes in mass merchandise outlets worldwide.