Marquis M. Converse founded the Converse Rubber Shoe Company (also known as the Boston Rubber Shoe Company) in Malden, Massachusetts in 1908. By 1910, Converse was producing 4,000 shoes daily, but it wasn't until 1917 that the Converse All-Star basketball shoe was introduced. Chuck Taylor became the ambassador for the brand due to his love for basketball and desired nothing so much as to spread of the word of the new game and sell the sneakers it required. By 1935 Jack Purcell lent his name to the brand having become the World Champion of Badminton, and today the style stays true to the namesake and feel for the sport. The brand has been built on these icons and the styles are as popular today as they were then.
