New Balance History 

This company was started by William J. Riley in Boston, Massachusetts in the early 1900's. He was determined to help people by making shoes with arch supports for a better feel. In 1934, William joined Arthur Hall with his business. Arthur was very good at selling arch supports to policemen and other people who worked on their feet all day. William’s plan was to offer a shoe that would be more comfortable to people who had foot problems. In 1954, Arthur Hall sold New Balance to his daughter and son-in-law, Eleanor and Paul Kidd. Although they still made arch supports and prescription shoes things changed in 1961 when they created the "Trackster" . The Trackster was the worlds first high performance running shoe and it was made in different widths. After that, New Balance was starting to make a great name for years to come.

Eleanor and Paul sold the company to Jim Davis in 1972, but he didn’t change the concept instead he kept things the same. Right after that New Balance gained much attention because their shoe was seen in the NYC Marathon. This put the icing on the cake for the company and they were known for having the best running shoe in 1978. Also, in 1978, Anne Davis (Jim’s wife) joined the company with hopes of getting them known worldwide. New Balance let it be known that their shoes are made in the USA, but in the 80's their footwear was now being made overseas. This led to a huge conflict because the label was still read made in the USA when the shoes were really coming from overseas.

The Federal Trade Commission’s shot at trying to stop the "Made in the USA" labeling was shut down by a group of politicians. New Balance faced more drama in the future. They are still here providing a wonderful selection of shoes in many different widths and sizes. New Balance will always be around and we all know that these are some of the most comfortable and long lasting shoes in existence. Since New Balance doesn’t get a lot of "HYPE" , people may think they don’t contribute to the "Shoe Game". Well keep thinking that if you want to, but they have teamed up with some of the best in the "Shoe Game".....just ask around.

New Balance has teamed up with Eric Haze, LAMJC, Colette, Stussy, Fiberops, Mad Hectic, Rezoh, Crooked Tongues and many more.