PRE WW2 BASKETBALL SHOES HYDE & SONS

Early ww2 ad showing the actual model pictured under...

Beautiful patina on the still very supple horsehide ....

Hyde & sons company,was created by a Russian immigrant cobbler,who took up residence in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mr. Abraham Hyde began to produce there his own line of shoes in a tiny space in the back of a Cambridge laundromat.He was then making what he called "carpet slippers" basically shoes constructed from old and unused scraps of rugs.His first store, A.R. Hyde & Sons opened in 1910

For over 20 years Mr. Hyde continued to produce his signature carpet slippers,through his store. In 1932, Abraham Hyde produced a pair of ice skates which he announced was the beginning to an entire athletic shoe line. Eventually the lineup became bowling shoes, roller skates and baseball shoes by 1938.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Hyde ceased production of civilian shoes.As our soldiers were involved in the conflict, leather and other necessities were strictly rationed for the war effort. the market on sneakers took a downfall as a countless number of men went to the front line and a lot of women working in factories. Luckily Hyde & Sons was commissioned by the US army as were other brands ,to produce boots for soldiers for the US ARMY. For its wartime efforts, Hyde was the only shoe company to be awarded the Army-Navy Award for excellence in manufacturing. The company returned to civilian production in 1946, now concentrated on athletic footwear. In 1952, Hyde made its first acquisition, purchasing the "Athletic Shoe Company" and adding that company's Spot-Bilt line of team sports shoes. With the acquisition completed, Hyde changed its name to Hyde Athletic Industries, Inc.

Hyde renewed its government contract work in the early 1960s, when NASA awarded the company the contract to supply footwear for the first astronauts.when Apollo 11 touched down on the moon in 1969, Neil Armstrong and the rest of the first crew were wearing space boots designed and produced by A.R. Hyde & Sons.

When Saucony came up for sale in 1968 Abraham Hyde jumped on the chance to pick up the right to manufacture and distribute the shoes and moved all operations to his headquarters in Cambridge and started selling Saucony shoes through his store in Cambridge like he did when he started his company......