| Saucony shoes have been around for 111 years. | | | | popular in the area. In 1932, A.R. Hyde & |
| Founded in 1898 by four businessmen from | | | | Sons first began manufacturing what the |
| Kutztown, Pennsylvania, the shoe company’s | | | | company dubbed “pleasure skates”. |
| fortunes and merchandise followed the course of | | | | These ice skates were the first “athletic |
| American history. The name of the company is a | | | | shoes” ever produced by what would |
| Native American name, which means “mouth | | | | become the modern day Saucony. This line of |
| of a creek or river”. The Saucony Creek | | | | athletic shoes expanded in 1938 to include baseball |
| runs through Kutztown, Pennsylvania, and the first | | | | shoes, bowling shoes and roller skates. |
| Saucony brick shoe factory was built along its | | | | The owners of A.R. Hyde & Sons changed |
| shores. The company has been loyal to its | | | | their merchandise as history changed around |
| roots, maintaining the Saucony name (even | | | | them. In 1942, A.R. Hyde & Sons |
| though the company was bought out by a | | | | manufactured army boots for the soldiers in |
| neighboring shoe manufacturer in 1968) and the | | | | World War II, and in the 1960’s the footwear |
| Saucony logo, which subtly represents a river | | | | company made shoes for NASA. That’s |
| running over three boulders. Saucony began | | | | right, the space boots worn by the first American |
| business by manufacturing children’s shoes, | | | | astronaut to walk in space were A.R. Hyde & |
| and by 1910, the company was producing | | | | Sons originals. |
| approximately 800 shoes a day. | | | | Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, the Saucony Shoe |
| No discussion of the history of Saucony shoes | | | | Manufacturing Company was dedicating itself to |
| would be complete without also discussing the | | | | running shoes – a dedication that continues to |
| history of a shoe store called A.R. Hyde & | | | | exist today. Hyde eventually purchased the |
| Sons, which bought the rights to Saucony in | | | | Saucony Company in 1968 and moved its |
| 1968. A.R. Hyde & Sons was based on the | | | | headquarters to Cambridge. Saucony was largely |
| shores of another river – the Charles River in | | | | a brand for a small but serious group of runners |
| Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was run by | | | | until 1977 when coverage in a national magazine |
| Abraham Hyde who was a Russian immigrant and | | | | brought the company national fame. The |
| a cobbler by trade. Hyde began his business by | | | | Saucony Company eventually moved again, this |
| manufacturing “carpet slippers”, which | | | | time to Lexington, Massachusetts, but it maintains |
| were shoes made out of scraps from old or | | | | its focus on high quality running shoes and |
| unused carpets. These shoes were extremely | | | | meeting runners’ specific needs. |