Football Boots (Soccer Shoes) History
Football Boots – Earliest Recorded – King Henry VIII in 1526
King Henry VIII’s football boots were included in the Great Wardrobe of 1526, a shopping list of the day. They were made by his personal shoemaker, Cornelius Johnson, in 1525, at a cost of 4 shillings, the equivalent of £100 in modern currency. Little is known about them, as there are no surviving examples, but it is known that the actual football boots were made of sturdy leather, were ankle-length and heavier than normal footwear of the time.
Football Boots – The 1800’s
Fast forward 300 years, football developed and gained popularity in Britain, but it remained an unstructured and informal pastime, with teams representing factories and local towns in a burgeoning industrial nation. The players wore their hard leather work boots, which had long laces and a steel toe cap like early football boots. These football boots would also have hammered metal spikes or studs to increase ground grip and stability.
As laws were integrated into the game in the late 1800s, the first change of football boots to a sneaker (or soccus) style also occurred, and players on the same team began wearing the same boots for the first time. The laws also allowed uprights, which had to be rounded. These leather studs, also known as cleats, were hammered into early football boots, which for the first time made a departure from the earlier favorite work boots. These football boots weighed 500g and were made of thick, tough leather that went up to the ankle for added protection. Football boots doubled their weight when wet and had six studs on the sole. The football boot had arrived…
Football boots – The years 1900 to 1940
Football boot styles remained relatively constant throughout the 1900s until the end of World War II. The most significant events in the world of football boots in the early part of the 20th century were the formation of several football boot producers that still make football boots today, including Gola (1905), Valsport (1920) and the Danish football boot manufacturer Hummel (1923).
In Germany, the Dassler brothers Adolf and Rudolf formed the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory) in Herzogenaurach in 1924 and began producing football boots in 1925 that had 6 or 7 replaceable studs, which could be changed depending on the weather conditions of the game.
Football boots – From 1940 to 1960
Football boot styles changed significantly after the end of World War II, as air travel became cheaper and more international matches were played. This saw the lightest and most flexible football boots worn by South Americans launch onto the world stage, and their skills on the ball and technical ability wowed all who saw them. Football boot production shifted to producing lighter football boots with the goal of kicking and controlling the ball rather than simply producing a piece of protective footwear.
1948 saw the formation of the Adidas company by Adolf (Adi) Dassler after a falling out with his brother that would form the cornerstone of the rivalry between football boot manufacturers from the earlier years to the present day. Brother Rudolf founded the beginnings of the Puma company in 1948, quickly producing the Puma Atom football boot. This led to interchangeable bolt-on cleats made of plastic or rubber for the first time, supposedly by Puma in the early 1950s, but the honor is also claimed by Adidas (Read the story on Footy-Boots). Football boots of the day were still above the ankle, but were now made from a mix of synthetics and leather, producing an even lighter shoe for players of the day to show off their skills.
Football boots – 1960s
Technological developments of the 1960s bought a momentous change in design that saw the lower cut design introduced for the first time in football history. This change allowed players to move faster and saw the likes of Pelé wearing Puma football boots in the 1962 World Cup final. Adidas, however, quickly emerged as the market leader, a position it holds to this day. In the 1966 World Cup final, an astonishing 75% of the players wore Adidas football boots.
The 1960s also saw several other football boot manufacturers join the market with their own brands and styles, including Miter (1960), Joma (1965) and Asics (1964).
Football boots – 70’s
The 1970s began with the iconic 1970 World Cup final, in which a sublime Brazilian team lifted the trophy with Pelé again leading the way, this time wearing the Puma King football boot. The decade itself will be remembered for the way football boot sponsorship took off, where players were paid to wear a single brand. In terms of design and style, technological advances have produced lighter boots and a variety of colors, including for the first time, the all-white football boot.
In 1979, Adidas produced the world’s best-selling soccer boot, the Copa Mundial, made from kangaroo leather and designed for speed and versatility. Although Adidas continued to dominate, several other football boot manufacturers joined the fray, including Italian football boot manufacturer Diadora (1977).
Football boots – 80s
The greatest recent development in football boot design and technology was developed in the 1980s by former player Craig Johnston, who created the Predator football boot, which was eventually released by Adidas in the 1990s. Johnston designed the Predator to provide greater traction between the football boot and the ball, and between the football boot and the ground. The design allowed for greater surface areas to come into contact with the ball when struck by the football boot, with a series of power and deflection zones within the striking area allowing the player to create greater power and deflection when hitting the “sweet spots”. The eighties also saw the manufacture of football boots for the first time by the English company Umbro (1985), the Italian Lotto and the Spanish Kelme (1982).
Football Boots – 90’s
1994 saw Adidas release the Craig Johnston designed Predator with its revolutionary design, styling and technology making it an instant and lasting hit. The Predator now featured polymer extrusion materials and technologies that allowed for a more flexible sole, as well as the replacement of conventional studs with a blade design that covered the sole, providing a more stable footing for the player. In 1995, Adidas released its bladed sole technology traxion, which are conical shaped blades. Puma struck back in 1996 with a football boot with a non-foam midsole, known as Puma Cell Technology, to which Adidas responded again, this time with wedge-shaped studs in the same year. In the 1990s, new football boot producers Mizuno launched their Mizuno Wave in 1997. Other new football boots came from Reebok (1992) and Uhlsport (1993) and other companies also joined the increasingly lucrative and competitive market. More significantly, the 1990s saw the entry of Nike, the world’s largest sportswear producer, making an immediate impact with its Nike Mercurial football boot (1998), weighing just 200g.
Football Boots – 2000+
As technology has advanced further, the application of new research and development has been seen in the new millennium years up to the present day and this has led to a strengthening of the market positions of the big three manufacturers and sellers of football boots, Puma, Nike and Adidas (incorporating Reebok since 2006). Fortunately, there is still room in the market for the smaller producer who does not have the big money endorsement deals available to them, such as Mizuno, Diadora, Lotto, Hummel and Nomis.
Recent developments since 2000 have seen Nomis Wet control technology producing a sticky boot (2002), the Craig Johnston Pig boot (2003), Kelme’s Shark technology (2006) and the exceptional design of the Lotto Zhero Gravity laceless football boots (2006), all of which support the successes these small manufacturers can achieve by producing specialized and technologically advanced football boots that provide distinctive differentiation. of the mass-produced products of the big three. Laser technology has also helped produce the world’s first fully customized soccer ball by Prior 2 Lever, which is perhaps the most exciting and innovative of recent developments.
Current favorite football boots include Adidas’ F50, Tunit and Predator; Nike Mercurial Vapor III, Air Zoom Total 90s and Tiempo Ronaldinho, Reebok Pro Rage and Umbro X Boots.
Football boots – The future
As the debate rages on about the lack of protection modern football boots provide and the impact in terms of player injuries, there seems little to suggest that the major manufacturers are going to abandon their quest for the lightest football boot for a more protective one. The proliferation of large endorsement deals, namely Nike Ronaldinho, Adidas with David Beckham, and Reebok with Thierry Henry, has become a huge factor driving the success and sales of a football boot manufacturer, but is seen at the cost of injuries and stagnation in football boot research and development. All we can predict for the future is integration with sensor technology, lighter and more powerful football boots, and more extravagant designs and styles.
Football boots have come a long way since King Henry strutted across the fields of England in the 16th century: the football boot has evolved from an everyday protective garment to a highly engineered, cutting-edge technological product that is a vital part of a player’s kit. Whatever the color, design, style or player – We love football boots!