The Converse Rubber Shoe Company was founded in 1908. Marquis Mills Converse opened the company in February of that year in Malden, Massachusetts, initially making winterized rubber-soled footwear and boots.
The business did not begin as a basketball-sneaker company. Its early products included galoshes, tennis shoes and other rubber goods. Converse entered basketball in 1916, and introduced the All-Star basketball shoe in 1917, nine years after the company itself was established.
Another frequent mix-up involves Chuck Taylor. Taylor joined Converse as a salesman and ambassador in 1922, and his signature was added to the All-Star ankle patch in 1932. The shoe’s later fame can make 1917 or 1922 seem like the company’s founding date, but both refer to important product or marketing milestones rather than the creation of Converse.