It was back in 1923 that the owners of the Field and Flint company set its workforce the task of naming an exciting new shoe that had a series of different product features. Whoever came up the best name would receive a generous $50 reward. That prize went to a factory seamstress who proposed the name, ‘Foot-Joy’ – and it stuck.
In the video and article below, we tell the story of how FootJoy evolved from those early days into one of the game’s most ubiquitous golf footwear and clothing brands.
Evolution Of A Golf Brand
The equipment golfers use today bears little resemblance to what was used when the game’s pioneers first stepped foot on the links. One of the most important early developments was the invention of golf-specific footwear. It sounds obvious now but putting spikes in shoes to provide golfers with some much-needed grip was once a revolutionary concept.
Most of us now take for granted some of the equipment-related product developments that were groundbreaking in their time. The timeline below plots the most important dates in FootJoy’s own evolution from the moment the original name came into being to the position of the company in the present day.
1923
Field and Flint Company launches the first ‘Footjoy’ with the tagline, ‘The shoe that’s different’.
Walter Hagen at the 1927 Ryder Cup
(Image credit: Getty Images)
1927
FootJoy becomes the official golf shoe used by the US Ryder Cup team. Walter Hagen captains the side, which includes a player by the name of Johnny Farrell.
1928
Farrell wins the U.S. Open at Olympia Fields Country Club. The 27-year-old beats Bobby Jones in a 36-hole playoff. It’s FootJoy’s first ever professional win. There have been over 8,000 since.
1945
FootJoy earns the distinction of the number one shoe on the PGA Tour – a position the company has held every year since.
1957
The Stone and Tarlow families purchase the Brockton factory, and officially dedicate the company to the game of golf.
Julius Boros at the 1963 US Open
(Image credit: Getty Images)
1963
Julius Boros beats Arnold Palmer and Jacky Cupit in an 18-hole playoff to win the U.S. Open at Brookline. He’s wearing FootJoy Classics.
1970
Field and…
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