#FactsFriday: Ewing Athletics
The 1980s gave birth to the signature basketball shoe. Many influential players received their own sneaker model from major footwear companies, like Nike, adidas and Converse to name a few. Nike had just launched the Jordan brand and was successfully marketing their footwear models as an aspirational way to be just Like Mike.
New Balance had players like James Worthy - trying to get in similarly to Jordan into the new market of signature Basketball shoes inspired by top players. The marketability of professional NBA players was becoming more and more known, as the industry boomed. This was of course until Patrick Ewing wanted to take it a step further. He wanted to become the first professional basketball player to have his own shoe company entirely. This changed everything..
A little about the man himself: before becoming a professional, Patrick dominated the collegiate ranks and wound up going to New York as the top pick in the 1985 draft. The most revered and beloved player in New York history, Patrick was voted as one of the 50 greatest players of all time and his career accomplishments. Ewing was the 1986 Rookie of the Year, 11 time All-Star, two time Olympic Gold Medalist (1984 and 1992) and finally, was voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.
In 1989 Patrick began his own shoe company, Ewing Athletics. The first model he wore briefly for the 1989 season was the Rebound, but the first main release from the company was the 33 HI. This shoe would go on to become a huge seller, becoming a street staple in NYC, and eventually becoming a hit in Europe and Asia as well.
The 33 HI remained in production and a top seller for years, and was featured in many album covers and music videos of the era. Patrick wore the shoe during the 1990 season and enjoyed his best season as a pro. Notable recent collaborations include that of the iconic Death Row Records, atmos and even Rick Ross.
For the next few years, at the start of every season Patrick would debut the company's latest game model. In 1991 he wore the Center, and introduced the Concept for the 1992 season. In the summer of 1992 he would wear a special version of the Eclipse in White/Red/Blue with a #6 on the back instead of his customary #33 to commemorate the 1992 Olympic Games which was the first US Mens Team to include professional players (see below).
In the 2000's as the Internet age dawned, there became a huge online cult following and demand increased for vintage Ewing shoes from all over the world (see a collector's interview here). In 2012 Patrick relaunched Ewing Athletics to world's joy.
Today Ewing are still pushing out heat and interesting collabs - keeping the first independent basketball brand going strong. Would you rock a pair from the first player-owned basketball brand?
