ABOUT NEW BALANCE

American Football // Baseball

New Balance was conceived back in 1906 in Boston, Massachusetts, originally producing arch supports and prescription footwear to alleviate the aches and pains of those on their feet all day. Founder William Riley named the company after observing chickens in his yard maintaining perfect balance on their three-clawed feet. By 1938 Riley had developed the first pair of New Balance running shoes for a local running club.

WHY NEW BALANCE ?

William Riley kept a chicken's foot prominently on display in his office. He would explain: "Chickens have perfect balance. All you have to do is watch them as they peck around the yard." The chicken foot has three claws. Mr. Riley designed his arches based upon this three-pronged model combined with his understanding of the anatomy of the human foot. Customized to each foot, his arches maximized balance during the transfer of weight from one foot to the other.

The company manufactured the world's first performance running shoe in multiple widths, the "Trackster", in 1960. By 1976 the New Balance 320 and 305 were named the world's best running shoes by Runner's World, catapulting the brand to the forefront of modern athletic shoe design. In 1981 New Balance launched the most enduring, technical running series in the industry: the 990, the first running shoe to break the $ 100 price market.

New Balance adopted an "Endorsed by No One" philosophy in the late 1980s preferring to invest in research, design and domestic manufacturing rather than paying celebrities to don their product. Despite this, every day high profile athletes choose New Balance footwear and apparel because they fit and perform.

Over the past 100 years New Balance has grown substantially whilst forging a reputation for a commitment to performance and fit, producing an unrivalled extensive selection of combinations of widths and sizes, whilst actively supporting domestic manufacturing. New Balance still manufactures shoes in five factories across the US and one in England.