50 free Sneakers trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
The word sneaker predates Nike by decades, the Swoosh cost $35, and a feud between two German brothers produced both Adidas and Puma. This sneakers trivia runs from the first canvas basketball shoes through Air Jordans, Yeezys and the self-lacing Nike Mag. Every answer is sourced, with a short explanation so you learn something even when you miss.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The name "sneaker" originally referred to what quality of the shoe?
Its quiet rubber sole
The Boston Journal was already using the word in 1887 for the name boys gave to tennis shoes.
Q 02What do British speakers commonly call sneakers?
Trainers
Cheaper canvas versions are plimsolls or daps; in Latvia any sneaker is a bota after a Czech brand.
Q 03Roughly what share of the world's shoes are made in Asia?
Nine in ten
Footwear follows the rest of the clothing industry in being concentrated there.
Q 04The British plimsoll got its nickname from a line on what?
A ship's hull
The coloured band joining the upper to the sole looked like the Plimsoll load line, and water above it meant wet feet.
Q 05In what year was the first Air Jordan released to the public?
1985
It was produced for Jordan in November 1984 and hit shelves on April 1, 1985.
Q 06Michael Jordan's first Nike deal in 1984 was worth how much over six years?
$2.5 million
It was three times bigger than any other NBA shoe deal at the time, and royalties made it far richer.
Q 07Nike hoped Air Jordans would earn $3M in three years. What did they earn in year one?
$126M
The success was helped by an ad campaign built around the NBA supposedly banning the shoe.
Q 08What was the per-game fine the NBA supposedly levied over Jordan's non-regulation shoes?
$5,000
Nike turned the policy into the famous "Banned" advertisement.
Q 09The Jumpman logo came from a photo shoot for which magazine?
Life
Co Rentmeester shot it at Chapel Hill before Jordan played for Team USA at the 1984 Olympics.
Q 10Which two brands besides Nike courted Jordan for a shoe deal in 1984?
Adidas and Converse
The others saw him as a face for existing lines; Nike offered him his own.
Q 11In which Massachusetts town was Converse founded in 1908?
Malden
Marquis Mills Converse started with winterized rubber-soled shoes, galoshes and even car tyres.
Q 12In what year was Chuck Taylor's signature added to the All-Star ankle patch?
1932
That made it the first celebrity-endorsed athletic shoe; Taylor had toured the country running basketball clinics.
Q 13What was Converse's 1917 forerunner of the All Star marketed as?
Non-Skids
Chuck Taylor asked the company for a redesign with more support in 1922.
Q 14What share of the US basketball shoe market did Converse hold by the 1960s?
Q 21Who coined the slogan "Just Do It" in 1988?
Dan Wieden
The ad agency co-founder said he was inspired by murderer Gary Gilmore's last words, "Let's do it".
Q 22Bill Bowerman ruined which kitchen appliance inventing a new sole?
A waffle iron
He poured rubber into his wife's Belgian waffle iron around 1970 to make a grippy, lightweight tread.
Q 23The Nike Cortez paid tribute to which historical figure?
Hernán Cortés
The shoe was first called "Mexico" after the 1968 Olympics; Forrest Gump runs across America in a pair.
About 70 to 80 percent
The decline came in the 1970s as players switched to rival brands.
Q 15Converse became a subsidiary of which company in 2003?
Nike
It had gone bankrupt in 2001 after passing through several owners.
Q 16In which US state was Chuck Taylor born?
Indiana
He played guard for Columbus High School before turning semi-pro and then salesman.
Q 17What was Nike originally called when it was founded in 1964?
Blue Ribbon Sports
Phil Knight sold Japanese Onitsuka Tiger shoes out of his car at track meets before the Nike name arrived in 1971.
Q 18Nike is named after the Greek goddess of what?
Victory
The name replaced Blue Ribbon Sports on May 30, 1971, the same year the Swoosh was adopted.
Q 19Which Japanese shoemaker did Nike's founders originally distribute for?
Onitsuka Tiger
The partnership ended in a court fight over the Cortez name, which Nike won in 1974.
Q 20How much was Carolyn Davidson paid for designing the Swoosh in 1971?
$35
She was a Portland State design student earning $2 an hour; Knight later gave her Nike stock.
Q 24Which Nike shoe was the first to use visible Air cushioning, in 1986?
Air Max 1
Designer Tinker Hatfield had started at Nike designing stores; the Air Tailwind hid its air unit in 1978.
Q 25Who pitched Nike the idea of air cushioning in 1977?
An aeronautical engineer
Frank Rudy's pressurised pouches debuted in the Nike Air Tailwind the following year.
Q 26Who designed the Nike Air Force 1 in 1982?
Bruce Kilgore
It was the first basketball shoe to use Nike Air, and it was discontinued just two years later before its comeback.
Q 27What was the Nike Dunk originally called?
College Color High
Peter Moore's 1985 design borrowed from the Legend, Terminator and Air Force 1 before skaters adopted it.
Q 28Tinker Hatfield earned his degree from the University of Oregon in which field?
Architecture
He pole-vaulted for Bill Bowerman there and joined Nike in 1981, moving to shoes in 1985.
Q 29The Nike Mag replicates a self-lacing shoe from which film?
Back to the Future Part II
The 2016 release was limited to just 89 pairs, raising money for Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's foundation.
Q 30How many pairs of the Nike Mag were released in 2011?
1,510
They were auctioned on eBay; the film's power laces were missing from that first batch.