Wrestling shoes

[WrestlingRash]

6 hours ago, D3 for LU said:

But during my younger (& "blonder" days)... these were the wrestling shoes that I wore.

(I'm sure a lot of you remember these! Before they became ASICS!)

You have your choice of either WHITE...

OR

BLACK.

If you could "afford" them... you got the all-leather TIGERS:

Usually reserved for the ace wrestlers on the team. (Unless you were the little rich kid that the parents bought them for you... the ribbing would NOT let up on'em, though!)

I wish I got those leather TIGERS... but our local sport store didn't have them in stock.

(Oh, well... )

D3

My kids coach had those and I always thought they were awesome. 

[hlstone]

11 hours ago, D3 for LU said:

Hmmm... perhaps, you meant THESE guys instead:

My oldest brother wore these when he was wrestling back in HS in NJ in '64-'67!

They were even around when I was wrestling in the early to mid '70's!

D3

I wore those my senior year in 1990. They were originally my Dad's.

[CHROMEBIRD]

22 hours ago, MPhillips said:

Had these in black and red. My favorites.

 

But I had a pair of Vans that you could pick the colors and where they went. I had silver, green and white. Never saw another pair...

 

WTF, Vans had wrestling shoes?? 

In my day those Vision Quest Gables, Brute John Smiths (even though the crappy plastic lace ring broke easily), and Purple Lytes were peak wrestling shoes.

My favorite pair was actually Converse wrestling shoes from like 1991 or something, which looked nothing like Chucks. They were a little heavy, but super comfy and they had the inside-toe and heel area rubber grips which are common now. These might be the ones:

[MPhillips]

3 minutes ago, CHROMEBIRD said:

WTF, Vans had wrestling shoes?? 

The Vans were really cool and no one else had them.  Those Gables though...the best wrestling shoes I ever had. 

I figure that's why decades later I got those blue/silver suede Nike.

[flyingcement]

On 12/15/2025 at 5:22 PM, Truzzcat said:

I traded for a green pair and they were the comfiest shoes I have ever owned wrestling or otherwise.

[Gene Mills Fan]

Poser!

[TNwrestling]

13 hours ago, CHROMEBIRD said:

WTF, Vans had wrestling shoes?? 

[GimJustafan]

14 hours ago, CHROMEBIRD said:

WTF, Vans had wrestling shoes?? 

In my day those Vision Quest Gables, Brute John Smiths (even though the crappy plastic lace ring broke easily), and Purple Lytes were peak wrestling shoes.

My favorite pair was actually Converse wrestling shoes from like 1991 or something, which looked nothing like Chucks. They were a little heavy, but super comfy and they had the inside-toe and heel area rubber grips which are common now. These might be the ones:

had the purple Lytes as well / lost in a move 

[JimmyCinnabon]

On 12/15/2025 at 2:39 PM, CHROMEBIRD said:

Thanks. I just Googled it and those Jordan Inflicts are coming up as ~$500 shoes! That's on the resale market though. During the dual, it struck me as a little odd to see the Jordan logo on a wrestling shoe.

I would have expected Michigan to wear these. They wear the Jumpman uniforms in foosball. 

[TNwrestling]

4 minutes ago, JimmyCinnabon said:

I would have expected Michigan to wear these. They wear the Jumpman uniforms in foosball. 

They're customs of some sort. There hasn't ever been an actual jordan "wrestling shoe". 

[JimmyCinnabon]

1 hour ago, TNwrestling said:

They're customs of some sort. There hasn't ever been an actual jordan "wrestling shoe". 

Talk about a missed opportunity. 

[JimmyCinnabon]

16 hours ago, CHROMEBIRD said:

WTF, Vans had wrestling shoes?? 

In my day those Vision Quest Gables, Brute John Smiths (even though the crappy plastic lace ring broke easily), and Purple Lytes were peak wrestling shoes.

My favorite pair was actually Converse wrestling shoes from like 1991 or something, which looked nothing like Chucks. They were a little heavy, but super comfy and they had the inside-toe and heel area rubber grips which are common now. These might be the ones:

I have a pair of Adidas currently for coaching (if you can call what I do coaching). But back in the day my favorite shoes were the pair of black and white Asic split soles I had. I loved those shoes.

[CHROMEBIRD]

3 hours ago, JimmyCinnabon said:

I have a pair of Adidas currently for coaching (if you can call what I do coaching). But back in the day my favorite shoes were the pair of black and white Asic split soles I had. I loved those shoes.

The Asics split sole was a great innovation. I think I first saw them on the Gable Ultralytes, another really nice shoe.

I don't know why shoes don't have split soles anymore but blame it on the ugly era of wrestling shoes which ran from the late 1990s through mid or late 2000s. 

[TNwrestling]

43 minutes ago, CHROMEBIRD said:

The Asics split sole was a great innovation. I think I first saw them on the Gable Ultralytes, another really nice shoe.

I don't know why shoes don't have split soles anymore but blame it on the ugly era of wrestling shoes which ran from the late 1990s through mid or late 2000s. 

There's still lots of split sole options. Combats and Freeks are the first two that come to mind...

 

Side Note, the Nike Freeks are the best shoe to have been made since the combats in 1988. I'll die on that hill. 

[JimmyCinnabon]

On 12/17/2025 at 4:39 PM, CHROMEBIRD said:

The Asics split sole was a great innovation. I think I first saw them on the Gable Ultralytes, another really nice shoe.

I don't know why shoes don't have split soles anymore but blame it on the ugly era of wrestling shoes which ran from the late 1990s through mid or late 2000s. 

My Asics can be the exception. They were black and white and very simple and sleek.