The brand got on playgrounds about 15 years before as THE ballplayer SHIT to wear, brand new sneakers bringing freshness and kicking out other brands well settled to date. The Competitor, a high performance basketball shoe, which probably locked up the PRO-Keds fad on the court. Then, in ’82-’84, PRO-Keds released the last model that New Yorkers considered as a must. It made them look sleeker.” Bobbito Garcia. PRO-Ked switched up their logo in ’81 again and included a bit of an arrow on the thicker stripe. I dug them so much I drew a picture of them underneath my bed for my freehand drawing class at Brooklyn Tech.
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SUPER PRO KEDS PLUS
The ’81 PRO-Keds Super Plus aka “Suede 69’ers” were not so cool in some minds apparently but Mr Freeze from Rock Steady Crew was probably the only one to rock them with freshness! Another style hit the courts in early 80’s… “The ’81-82 PRO-Ked Final Four Mesh was my first serious basketball high top. The PRO-Ked Shotmaker was launched as well as a great entry level leather sneaker. These remind me of everything good about playing ball in Spanish Harlem as a teenager” says Bobbito Garcia. “The ’79-82’ Royal Master and ’78-80’ Royal Flash were the best combination of basketball performance and style that PRO-Keds ever made. After 82, they weren’t available anymore, but B-Boys rocked them till the end! “69’ers in red high top were my shit! Top three sneakers to b-boy in ever!” Crazy Legs, Rock Steady CrewBut new styles appeared and was the great transition from canvas to leather. Early 80’s were the last years of the “69’ers”. The connoisseurs were there and the sneaker movement was on.
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B-Boys, graffiti artists, DJs and MCs were in each block and a big part of the New York street trends were influenced by them as much as the playground basketball stars could have been.
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In the 80’s, the game changed… Hip-hop heads were going as a huge influence in the streets. “Rejects! They cost a $1.99! Rejects! They make your feet feel fine! Rejects, they wipe yo’ mama’s be-hind!” I heard that all day until I finally copped some.” Lord Scotch, Graffiti artistAs Bobbito Garcia says “The Super PRO-Keds were the first pair of name brand sneakers owned by a lot of heads in my age bracket.” But all those pioneers in sneakers’ culture began to get older and became more sophisticated, the influx of leather models gave hard times to the PRO-Keds Royal, even if their strong run helped to keep them popular with homeboys and homegirls. If you didn’t have 69’ers, then you had rejects on. There was nothing else out that mattered. Afrika Bambaataa was proudly wearing them in his block parties and B-Boys from the Rock Steady Crew were soon great PRO-Keds ambassadors. Even famous they were on the court, they began to be the ones worn by the hip-hop heads. Bunch of kids could have died for them in Harlem & the Bronx. It’s bugged how flat they were compared to today’s technology” KRS-ONEBetween ’75-’78, the “69’ers” became the original “Uptowns”. “The low cut Super PRO-Ked in navy blue or white took the sneaker world to another level of fashion” Joe Cruz, South Bronx ballplayer (born ’46) “The Super PRO-Ked is the greatest sneaker ever introduced to mankind! I love them. By endorsing popular New-York native players as Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Nate “Tiny” Archibald, PRO-Keds was going on market domination. “All the young hustlers in Harlem were rocking them” Dee Adams, former Milbank coach (born ’56) In the early 70’s, with the PRO-Ked Royal aka “Super PRO-Keds” (first sneakers released by PRO-Keds), PRO-Keds became a pioneer in supporting and marketing ballplayers. They were the first classic sneaker for New-Yorkers on and off the court. Through the 60’s and early 70’s, the PRO-Ked Super aka “69’ers” went really popular on playgrounds and streetz as well. This shoe features heavy duty canvas uppers, metal eyelets, a removable insole, and the vulcanized construction with the Powerstripes PRO-Keds logo. Originally known as the Royal Tread in 1949, they were worn by George Milkan and the 5 time champion Minneapolis Lakers in the early 50's. It was a basketball shoe worn by many NBA players. The Royal is the most popular style in the PRO-Keds line.