Larry’s All Star Friendship

Converse once had a near monopoly on basketball shoes with its Chuck Taylor All Stars. That legacy lasted into the 1980s when Larry Bird wore these green Converse shoes. In 1986, Bird and his rival Magic Johnson appeared together in one of the first televised shoe ad campaigns that included basketball stars. The spot, filmed at Bird’s house in Indiana, became an instant success and cemented the duo’s friendship. Between takes, Johnson was welcomed into the Bird family home. “His mom greeted me on the porch,” Johnson said. “It was a ‘Mom Bird’ hug, like my mom would hug me. I got to know Larry the man that day, and he got to know Earvin.”