Football Boots
Football has evolved as a game to be played on grassy fields, often in wet and muddy conditions, and the early inflated pig bladder footballs were often wet and heavy to kick. It is therefore not surprising that specialised football boots were developed to play this demanding game.
Before he became the overweight regal figure in Holbein’s famous painting, King Henry VIII of England was a keen sportsman and has gone down in history as the first recorded owner of a pair of football boots. By the 1800s, the game was played wearing hard leather boots with steel caps, so hopefully the shin guard came along quickly too.
Studs for grip followed later in the century and replaceable studs of varying lengths emerged by 1925, becoming screw fixed by 1950. Players’ ankles became uncovered in the 1960s to allow the boots to become lighter, making the game considerably faster, and this trend has continued to this day.
By the 1970s, players were being sponsored by boot manufacturers such as Adidas, who have continued to refine the design. Studs have become blade shaped and boots have become even lighter, enabling players to sprint up and down the line at great speed.
Perhaps the main downside of all this football boot technology is that the player is more prone to foot injuries, especially around the ankle area which has become unprotected as the boots have shrunk. This is probably one of the reasons for a tightening up of the rules on heavy tackling, especially from behind – a common feature of the game in the early 1970s.
