Joseph William Foster of Great Britain made a business of creating handmade running shoes in 1895 that were later worn in the Olympics of 1924. In 1939, he founded the company known as J.W. Foster & Sons. In 1958, two of the owner's grandsons started a companion company they called Reebok, named after an African gazelle. In 1979, Paul Fireman negotiated the license for North American distribution; three years later Reebok came out with the Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe, to satisfy the fitness craze. In the late 1980s, the Reebok Pump line was introduced and the company expanded to include the rights to manufacture sideline apparel for the National Football League, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, Canadian Football League, and Major League Baseball. Reebok's successful marketing and innovation ranked it as the number three brand in the athletic footwear industry—that is, until Paul Fireman sold Reebok to Adidas in 2005, making it the number two brand, with Nike as number one.
Historical Dictionary of the Fashion Industry. Francesca Sterlacci and Joanne Arbuckle.