Charles "Chuck" Taylor is enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, but he never competed in a college tournament and played before the NBA was born.
The rural Indiana native started playing for barnstorming basketball teams after graduating in 1919 from Columbus High School, where he was a two-time all-state selection. The hall says he played until about 1930.
Converse Inc. hired Taylor as a salesman in 1921, and within a year, his input led to a slight restyling of the company's All Star shoe that made it more suitable for playing basketball.
The company recognized Taylor's contributions by adding his signature to the All Star ankle patch in 1923.
An Internet biography posted by Converse says Taylor played with teams in Fort Wayne, Akron, Detroit and Buffalo and barnstormed around the country with the original Celtics.
Taylor took his sneakers on the road, driving to small towns all over America, conducting basketball clinics and selling shoes.
He had no home except his Cadillac and motel rooms. He kept his valuables in storage in a locker in a Chicago warehouse.
Taylor retired from Converse in 1968 and was elected that year to the Hall of Fame along with Red Auerbach, Henry Iba and Adolph Rupp. He died the following year at age 68.
All Stars were the official basketball shoe of Olympic competition from 1936 until 1968.