johnnysama Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 This is just based on observations of mine, so if anybody wants to acknowledge something differently, feel free.Over the years, sports cleats and the companies that make them have varied across the baseball and (American) football landscape. Here is a rundown of what cleat brands were popular by each decade in both sports.Most of the early 20th century ~ mid 1960s-early 1970s: This was an era in which you could get any kind of shoe, as long as it was a Riddell and black. However, by the latter form of this era, white shoes began to make their appearance, thanks to Joe Namath and the Kansas City (now Oakland) A's, who sported white cleats. The wheels were in motion for a major change in the sports shoe landscape.....1970s: The Philadelphia Phillies are the first team in the National League (and the second team in MLB overall) to wear non-black shoes, beginning in 1971 to coincide with the opening of then-state of the art Veterans Stadium, according to the team's 1971 media guide (this blurb was feature on Uni Watch- the blurb is here: http://www.uni-watch.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-shot-2015-03-29-at-2.38.57-PM.png). With this, West German companies Adidas and Puma begin to make their mark on the sports shoe landscape; over the course of the decade, many football teams switch to white cleats, and many baseball teams switch to team-colored shoes (which were either red, blue or white). Another dominant company in this decade is the Spot-Bilt company, part of the Saucony company.1980s: Here's where things get interesting. An Oregon-based company named Nike began to burst onto the scene; while they are the biggest company to emerge in the 1980s, others like Pony, Asics, Converse, Keds (under their ProKeds banner) also share the spotlight. Puma and Adidas still have a fairly high profile during this time.1990s: As sports shoe marketing becomes more lucrative, many athletes begin to make lines of shoes that lend their individual name to themselves. The biggest company emerging on the scene in this decade is Reebok. Nike is also another stalwart during this decade. Many baseball teams switch back to traditional looks, and re-introduce black cleats. Additionally, one NFL team begins to wear black shoes for the first time since the 1983 Minnesota Vikings: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1997.2000s decade ~ today: Shoe technology keeps evolving, and with this, many shoes have a space-age look to them. This century has introduced both New Balance and Under Armour to the scene; and Nike continues to expand its reach on the sports shoe universe- in 2012, an NFL rule dictating that shoes must only be base-white or base-black is relaxed, coinciding with the company taking over the uniform contract for the league; with this, Nike introduces a line of cleats made in specific team colors.So, what does the future of shoes in sports hold? Who knows, we may have reached the limit here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraw28 Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 http://www.gridiron-uniforms.com/ has a great history of what teams wore over the years, I remember the rsams wore blue shoes and the vikings wore black until 1984 and then returned in 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnysama Posted May 8, 2015 Author Share Posted May 8, 2015 ^ Ah, silly me. Forgot to mention the colored cleats worn by several NFL teams in the 1970s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guest23 Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Yeah your nfl black cleat reintroductoin is pretty off. You had teams in the mid 90's gradually going back to black shoes like the Bears. Pretty sure the resurgence started with the Eagles.Other brands: Anyone remember ROOS? Endorsed by Walter Payton. They acually made cleats for retail as I discovered a pair in a bargain bin of a sporting goods store and yes they had a pouch in the tongue. Actually turned out to by one of my favorite pair of cleats. You also had other randoms come and go like spot bilt, champion, tanel, mizuno I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csura999 Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Thought this was interesting: A picture of Johnny Unitas as a Charger wearing light blue cleats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doogie24 Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 I'm 27, and have been in Nikes since I was about 10, but I do remember some brands of ball cleats I wore as a kid. Pony, Macgregor, and Mitre are three that come to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoover356 Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 I had a pair of converse baseball cleats that lasted about a week due to the solid base for the cleats breaking but they still looked cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1insaneguy Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Didn't Chris Redman of the Baltimore Ravens try to honor Unitas with Black high tops in a game only to be fined by the No Fun League? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConcreteCharlie Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 In the late 90s, the high top cleats got really popular in the MLB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJWalker45 Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Didn't Chris Redman of the Baltimore Ravens try to honor Unitas with Black high tops in a game only to be fined by the No Fun League? Peyton Manning did it and was told to take them off before the game started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1insaneguy Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Didn't Chris Redman of the Baltimore Ravens try to honor Unitas with Black high tops in a game only to be fined by the No Fun League? Peyton Manning did it and was told to take them off before the game started.Oh it was Peyton Manning? I seem to remember hearing something about Chris Redman being involved, but maybe I'm wrong. Just wondering though, was a safety issue the reason he couldn't wear them? Or was it something else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJWalker45 Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Didn't Chris Redman of the Baltimore Ravens try to honor Unitas with Black high tops in a game only to be fined by the No Fun League? Peyton Manning did it and was told to take them off before the game started.Oh it was Peyton Manning? I seem to remember hearing something about Chris Redman being involved, but maybe I'm wrong. Just wondering though, was a safety issue the reason he couldn't wear them? Or was it something else? It was a uniform issue because the Colts wore white shoes so he had to wear white shoes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1insaneguy Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Didn't Chris Redman of the Baltimore Ravens try to honor Unitas with Black high tops in a game only to be fined by the No Fun League? Peyton Manning did it and was told to take them off before the game started.Oh it was Peyton Manning? I seem to remember hearing something about Chris Redman being involved, but maybe I'm wrong. Just wondering though, was a safety issue the reason he couldn't wear them? Or was it something else? It was a uniform issue because the Colts wore white shoes so he had to wear white shoes. Oh I see, I was thinking maybe the league was worried it somehow cause more concussions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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