History
The original Reebok Pump was made as a collaboration between Reebok's Paul Litchfield and industrial design firm Design Continuum. It was released in 1989, as a basketball high-top shoe. The shoe was quite expensive compared to other retail athletic shoes at the time, often costing as much as 150% more than the next most expensive athletic shoe on the market. It became something of a status symbol on urban basketball courts and eventually in suburban high schools.
After the success of the basketball shoe, Reebok designed pump shoes for association football (soccer), gridiron football, tennis, and track. Some models used a standard CO2 cylinder instead of the pump for weight considerations.
Dominique Wilkins wore the Reebok Pump original from 1989 on. The original Pump is now known as the Pump Bringback.
Dee Brown won the 1991 all star weekend dunk competition while wearing a pair of Pumps. Before his most crowd-pleasing dunk, Brown stopped to inflate the internal bladder a few times, much to the delight of fans.
Michael Chang wore the Reebok Court Victory Pumps.
CCM briefly offered a hockey skate with The Pump in it circa 1995; however, it was derided for its poor durability. The Pump did not make a return to hockey until 2006, when Reebok (now the owner of CCM) brought out the 9K, 7K and 5K ice, goalie, and 8K inline model which used The Pump as a customizable heel-fit mechanism.
World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler John Cena wore Reebok Pumps as part of his old-school, hip hop gimmick. He would often stop to "pump up" when he was gaining momentum towards the end of matches.
Rawlings offered a Pump-equipped baseball glove.
The patent for the pump mechanism is USPTO #5113599.
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