Hoop Stars: Converse StarTech Dr. J vintage 1984 High Top Shoes Basketball Sneakers

Here’s a cool old ad for Converse featuring Dr. J’s 1984 StarTech model basketball high tops.

Ad info is below:

JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED.

The new Converse StarTech. It's biomechanically designed to have what one of the hardest-playing pros needs most— unyielding protection and long-lasting construction. Converse's uni-saddle design has extra lateral support for safer side-to-side moves and ankle-twisting pivots. The advanced shell sole and All Step insole have super shock absorption for jumping on rebounds and going up for high-flying slam dunks. Plus, it's designed the way we design all our athletic shoes. By working with top athletes and coming up with improved biomechanical designs to satisfy their needs. That's why Dr. J wouldn't even think of taking the court before taking two Converse StarTechs for his feet.

The Converse Star Tech mid-cut

CONVERSE
Reach for the stars. Reach for Converse.
1984 Converse Inc. The Official Athletic Shoe of the 1984 Olympic Games.

Converse StarTech Shoe Commercial from 1984

Here’s an old school 1984 Converse ad for their StarTech model sneakers. The music in this commercial has some strong Herbie Hancock "RockIt" vibes. RockIt was released a year earlier in 1983.

Various vintage running shoe and retro sneaker models from 1981

This old scan is from 1981 and has some well worn distress. It looks like it survived The Great Flood. Below we have retro sneaker models from:

Pro Wings
Pro-Specs - Marathons
Brooks
Nike
Converse
Asics Tiger
Autry - Concorde
Puma - Fast Rider
adidas

Various retro vintage sneaker and running shoe models from 1981 @ The Deffest


Footsies Friday - vintage sneaker ads for Converse Jack Purcell and Puma Fast Rider

This double feature blog post goes out to all of the ladies playing under the table games. The ads below were made 7 years apart and more than anything this probably speaks to the cyclical nature of advertising.

We’ll kick it off in 1973 with a vintage sneaker ad featuring the Converse Coach and Jack Purcell model sneakers.

Converse Coach and Jack Purcell 1973 footsies vintage sneakers ad @ The Deffest

7 years later she was back playing foot games in this ad featuring Puma’s Power Cat and Fast Rider runners…

In 2020 she is likely now at a retirement home playing footsies with someones Hush Puppies sporting granddad .🤣

Converse ad info is below:

Converse Coach and Jack Purcell: For guys who want to keep playing after the game is over.

Converse has built a reputation for making great athletic shoes for the greatest athletes in the world. And that's the idea behind our Converse Coach and Jack Purcell. Great performers. But they look great, too. A terrific all-around athletic shoe like Coach (right), that looks good enough to play the field off the field, too. And a great tennis shoe like Jack Purcell, that feels just as at home partying as playing tennis. Two tough-playing, sharp-looking leisure time shoes from Converse. Because some guys are out to build a reputation for themselves. Converse Coach and Jack Purcell.

*converse

Puma ad info is below:

PUMA-SOFTEST TOUCH IN RUNNING!
It's easier to experience Puma than you think. In fact, we're the softest touch in running. Puma people know Puma shoes give something beyond 5-Star performance, finest quality and innovative design—something wild and free. You can capture it today at your favorite running store.

PUMA

Vintage Converse 1979 ad for the World Class Trainer II, World Class Marathoner II and Invitational

We had someone email the blog to ID some 1970’s Converse today and I was able to dig up a 1979 ad for them. They had the World Class Trainer II and this ad also features the World Class Marathoner II and World Class Invitational.

Ad info is below:

CONVERSE INVITES YOU TO COMMIT YOURSELF.

Buy a pair of Converse World Class Running Shoes and get this one-of-a-kind Progress Plan free.

The final step to serious running is serious self-appraisal. If you are ready for that step, or if you have already taken it but don't have a day-to-day system, we would like to present you with a unique opportunity.

We have put together The World Class Progress Plan. It features the most comprehensive personal logs ever compiled, complete before-and-after stretching instructions by Bob Anderson: author of the book Stretching, and an introduction explaining the value of self-appraisal by Rory Donaldson, editor of Guidelines For Successful Jogging.

To get The World Class Progress Plan first buy either the Trainer II, the Marathoner II or the Invitational. The Trainer II and the Marathoner II are the only shoes that offer the unique combination of lace-to-toe design and variable width sizing to insure proper shoe fit. The result: a more even distribution of stress and a more comfortable shoe.

The Invitational is in a class by itself. No other shoe gives you a combination of rolled outersole and flared heel. The result: maximum stability on uneven surfaces.

These shoes were rated in the 1979 Runner's World shoe survey. The Trainer II and Invitational were awarded the highest five-star ratings while the Marathoner II earned a full four-stars. So if you are ready to make the commitment to serious running, commit yourself to a pair of Converse World Class Running Shoes. To receive a free World Class Progress Plan, tear off the end panel with the size and stock number from any World Class shoe box and send it with your return address to: Converse World Class Progress Plan, P.O. Box 9566. St. Paul. Minn. 55195

*CONVERSE
THE SHOES OF THE STARS
An Eltra Company

WORLD CLASS MARATHONER II
WORLD CLASS INVITATIONAL
WORLD CLASS TRAINER II

Vintage Converse 1979 ad for the World Class Trainer @ The Deffest

Vintage Converse 1978 "World Class" robot sneaker ad

Here’s a 1978 Converse “World Class” ad 🤖 from a Japanese magazine called Popeye in 1978. And a big shout out to our Instagram buddy over @trainer.spotting who passed along this ad. If you haven’t already you should check out his IG.

Vintage Converse 1978 "World Class" robot sneaker ad @ The Deffest

Converse Arizona 1980 vintage sneaker ad

Here's an old school 1980 vintage sneaker ad for the Converse Arizona. According to the ad they teamed up with a NASA engineer to help design it and this sneaker is loaded with tech for traction, shock absorption and stability.

Converse Arizona 1980 vintage sneaker ad @ The Deffest

Ad info is below:

HIGH TECH OR YOUR FEET THE CONVERSE ARIZONA 

The new Converse Arizona' was developed in consultation with a NASA contractor. The result is an Integrated Running System (patents pending) that offers runners new levels of stability, shock protection, and traction on every surface.

The Sportcell mid-sole, created from a new high-technology material, provides extra protection by actually dissipating shock. Converse took the question of sole configuration out of the hands of clothing designers, and put it into the hands of engineers. The result is a sole that grabs hold of virtually anything —even loose dirt — to provide solid footing on any surface. The Toe Propulsion Ridge maximizes traction on toeoff. Outsole Studs and Heel Wear Bar keep traction high even as the shoe wears. The Heel Lock System provides state-of-the-art stability. When the shoe is laced, this newly developed "passive seatbelt system" locks the heel into place. This means over-pronation, the leading cause of runners' injuries, is minimized.

Man's feet, his legs, his knees — all his body parts are limited. His mind is not. He can create high technology to compensate for his limitations —technology to help him run faster, safer, more comfortably. He can create the Converse Arizona. For a free poster of this ad, write Converse Customer Service, 55 Fordham Rd., Wilmington, MA 01887. CONVERSE 

Converse Thunderbolt & Equinox Arthur Lydiard vintage sneaker ad ​

Converse "The Art of Running" 1984 Arthur Lydiard Thunderbolt and Equinox vintage sneaker ad. Another popular theme of these old 80s running shoe ads is the “track coach sponsorship.” After the success of Nike and Bill Bowerman there was a long line of track coach endorsers that came out to promote different brands and lines of running shoes.

Arthur Lydiard was well known and prior to these runners with Converse he sponsored a pair of sneakers by the EB Brütting company in Germany called the Lydiard EB Brütting Road Runner. Lydiard also taught Bill Bowerman how to jog. After that he designed these Thunderbolt and Equinox shoes for Converse. Converse re-issued the Thunderbolt and these sneakers have a really cool, unique style to them.

Ad info is below:

THE ART OF RUNNING
Arthur Lydiard, the world's greatest distance coach and designer of the new Converse Lydiard Equinox and Lydiard Thunderbolt.
“As a distance coach, I don't base my running methods solely on strength. Running's a science. That's why I chose to work with Converse. Converse is dedicated to biomechanical research. And together we've developed innovative design features that provide major benefits to the serious runner. We built the new Equinox' and Thunderbolt- on my own last... a curved, contoured and balanced last...the first of its kind. Special features include the extremely lightweight, yet durable Indy 500 outsole. A removable conformal footbed. And a molded mid-sole that keeps its resilience mile after mile. We also designed the Equinox"' in widths.

The results? Shoes that fit your foot and at the same time are lightweight and flexible. Three musts for any shoe you're going a long distance on. I strongly recommend serious runners train in the new Converse Lydiard Equinox and race in the Lydiard Thunderbolt. Like I tell all my runners, being good isn't luck. It's a science. Resign yourself to that and you'll go far"

Lydiard Equinox Training

Men’s widths B, D, EE and Women’s AA, B, C.

Lydiard Thunderbolt Racing Flat

CONVERSE
Reach for the stars. Reach for Converse.
1984 Converse Inc
The Official Athletic Shoe of the 1984 Olympic Games.

Converse Thunderbolt & Equinox 1984 vintage sneaker ad @ The Deffest