In ancient Rome, sports competitions were introduced, but the manufacturing of sports shoes only began in the late 19th century. Around 1892, the initial pair of footwear with a rubber sole was created in the United States by the "American Rubber Company," leading to the emergence of the first sneakers worldwide. Around the same period, resourceful Englishman Joseph William Foster invented spiked shoes by simply inserting small nails into his footwear. Subsequently, Foster established the "J. W. Foster & Co" company, which later invented and produced the world's first sneakers.
Simultaneously, in the United States, the "Saucony" company was established and also ventured into sports shoe production, surpassing the success of their English counterparts. The American company gained significant momentum, reaching a production rate of approximately 820 pairs of sneakers per day by 1908, focusing mainly on professional athletes. It was not until the 1950s that sneakers transitioned from being solely sports shoes to becoming an everyday footwear choice, largely thanks to the influential actor James Dean. Dean's portrayal in the film "Rebel Without a Cause," where he adorned sport shoes, jeans, a white t-shirt, and a red jacket, contributed to the film being hailed as the most fashionable in cinema history. Consequently, sneakers became immensely popular among young people, leading to the sale of over 600 million pairs annually in America by 1957. Hence, sneakers rightfully claim the title of the most favored footwear of the 20th century, a distinction they still hold today.
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