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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[November 1, 1916. 



Rubber-SoIed Footwear for Indoor Sports. 



Now is the season when devotees of athletics transfer most this sole has a wide edge, inside of which is a collection of 



of their activities to the gymnasium, and, therefore, shoes square, convex sections, each having a vacuum cup in its 



adapted specially for such use are in demand. The center, 



manufacturers have not been backward in furnishijig suitable Another form of elaborate sole is shown by the Converse 



footwear for this purpose, giving special attention to tlie re- Rubber Shoe Co., Maiden, Massachusetts, whicli contains, in- 



B.\SKET Ball "Ked" 

 United State.-; Rtbber Co. 



B.vsKET Ball Shoe 

 La Crosse Rubber Mills Co. 



'King Pin" Basket Ball Shoe 

 Converse Rubber Shoe Co. 



quirements of the various uses to which it is to be put in the 

 various games. 



Just at present there is a greater demand for basket-l)all 

 shoes than any other line of this kind, though it is safe to as- 

 sume that many shoes made expressly for this game are used 

 in bowling, fencing, and other athletic sports. The principal 

 requirements of basket-ball shoes are that they shall be strong 



side of the broad edge, a depressed section composed of square 

 spaces divided from each other by diagonal ridges and, in ad- 

 .dition to these, the sections at the inside edge of the tread, both 

 sole and heel, have further walls or longitudinal divisions. 



Of the designs of the uppers of these shoes, the illustrations 

 are sufficiently clear to require but little description. It will be 

 noticed that they vary as regards the design at the toe, some 



1 



LKXTLRV J'.ASKET BaLL ShcE 



Apslev Rubber Co. 



ii.\.-5K£T I!.\LL Shoe 

 .\pSLEy Rubber Co. 



"Crip Sure" Basket Ball Shoe 

 Be -con Falls Rubber Shoe Co. 



and al)le to witlistaud the hard service to which they are sub- 

 jected without ripping or tearing. 



.Another, and perhaps the principal requirement, however, is 

 that they should have a non-slipping quality, that they should 

 cling to the floor, which is usually highly polished, and on which 

 ordinary footwear would render its use dangerous to the point 

 of impossibility. 



.'\s a rule, manufacturers use the vacuum principle in the soles 

 provided for this purpose, and several patterns are shown as 

 used by different manufacturers. .'^s is shown below, the 

 Beacon Falls Rubber Shoe Co., Beacon Falls, Connecticut, 

 gets out a special basket-ball shoe, leather-trimmed, with a 

 suction cup sole of red rubber. As w-ill be readilv noted. 



showing leather caps, while others simply increase the width 

 of the foxing, as shown in the shoe made by the La Crosse 

 Rulilier Mills Co., La Crosse, Wisconsin. Some of these shoes 

 also have leather patches as extra protection to the ankle bones. 



.Attention might be called to the peculiarity of the sole of 

 the shoe manufactured by the United States Rubber Co., New 

 York City, the tread of the sole being beveled outward, the edge 

 being cut at an angle, this of itself giving a clinging quality ap- 

 preciated by basket-ball pjayers. 



These, of course, are only a few of the many lines manu- 

 factured for this or similar purposes, but it will serve to give 

 readers an idea of the leading features of this special kind of 

 footwear. 



