Sports' Forgotten Heroes

There are figures in sports who are larger than the game whom people know so little about. One of the biggest of those names is Chuck Taylor. In fact, almost everyone who has ever laced up a pair of sneakers has worn a pair of Chuck All Stars, Converse’s best-selling shoe. Interestingly, very few people can tell you anything about Chuck Taylor. Many think Chuck Taylor is a fictional character, a person Converse created. Well, not only did Converse not make up the name Chuck Taylor, he was very real. Chuck Taylor was an extraordinary salesman who created an incredible brand. Once the good folks at Converse saw what Taylor could do, they turned the keys over to him and said “go”. Taylor put on basketball clinics around the country that were “must-see” events. Sold out gymnasiums were par for the course. He created an annual yearbook in which he named the best players and best teams in the country. If your name appeared, that was HUGE! It wasn’t some sort of non-sensical promotional tool, it was the real deal. C