History of the Puma Clyde

In 1924, in a small Bavarian town not far from Nuremberg, two brothers Rudolph and Adolf
("Adi") started the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory) out of their
mother's laundromat.  Twelve years later, with a suitcase full of shoes, Adi trekked to the 1936
Olympic Games in Berlin and convinced Jesse Owens to wear his shoes. Well, we all know how
well Jesse did and the Dassler brothers' little shoe business exploded.

In 1948 the brothers split their company. Adi called his new company Adidas. Rudolf changed
his company's name to PUMA Schuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler.

 "More or less in the middle of the night, Rudolf Dassler packed his bags and moved on the
other side of the little river...From there on in, the town was really split in two like a sort of
mini Berlin with this little river as a partition in the middle...The town became known as the
town where people tend to look down because you'd always tend to look at shoes the person
is wearing before you strike up a conversation."

(from Barbara Smit's book, Pitch Invasion.)

The first Puma's, the Atom, appeared that year on the West German soccer teams feet and first
landed in the US in 1950.  

The Puma "King" was born in 1968, the same year the cat logo appeared. Its defining feature: suede.

Also in that year wearing the "Puma Suedes" Black Power trackthletes Tommie Smith and Lee Evans
won gold in the Mexico City Olympics.

Then 1n 1973.....

Clyde Frazer was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, but will forever be remembered as a New Yorker.
Clyde was selected by the Knicks in the 1967 draft. He brought with him his signature swagger along
with his passion for winning. The only two titles in Knicks history came with Clyde running the show
at point (1970, ’73). Clyde held Knicks franchise records in points (14,617), and assists (4,791), and
was named the NBA All defensive team an amazing 7 times. Clyde was named one of the 50 greatest
players of all time and was entererd into the Hall of Fame in 1987.

Clyde was renowned for his style both on and off the court, and was often pictured in tailor shops,
cruising to and from the Garden in his two-tone Rolls Royce. Clyde was the poster child for an era
being part Superfly, part Shaft. He was all the rage to fans, the press and obviously the ladies.
When Clyde cruised around town a crowd inevitably came in tow. Even on the stylish and sometimes
outrageous streets of Manhattan, he was hard to miss. When Clyde stepped out, it was on massive
platform shoes and with a cane, which he used as a backup to make sure he didn’t break his neck.
He was a six-foot-four-inch (6’8” in heels) mink-coat-wearin’ man mountain, capped by the
broad-brimmed Borsalino hat. The nickname "Clyde" was bestowed upon him because Walt "stole"
basketballs the same way Clyde Barrow (Bonnie & Clyde) robbed banks! Frazier would play back on
his man on defense, letting him get complacent in his dribble, and then, just as he crossed half court,
pin him in a corner where he had nowhere to go but out of bounds—unless he ended up chasing
after Clyde, who might all of a sudden possess the basketball.

Puma cashed in on Clyde’s household swag status through the inception of the Puma Clyde in 1973.
It was the first signature shoe named for a basketball player . The Puma Clyde is a bespoke version
of the Puma Suede and just like Clyde himself, the Puma Clyde was equally at ease on and off the
court. The Puma Clyde has become one of the most recognisable and re-styled shoes in history,
and was even the feature of a museum exhibit in Melbourne, Australia.

 

 

The Puma Clyde has been refashioned in a multitude of different styles and packs including the
Puma “giant” Clyde made in conjunction with Freshness Magazine.  From the original White/Orange
colourway that Clyde donned on the Garden floor, to the Vaughn Bode edition, the Clyde remains
one of the most popular shoes ever, even after 36 years...You dig!