In 1916,U.S. Rubber consolidated 30 different shoe brand names to create one company. Initially, the name "Peds" was chosen for the brand from the Latin word for feet, but it was already trademarked. Keds's original shoe design, the Champion, was the first mass-marketed canvas-top shoe. They became known as "sneakers" as the soft rubber soles allowed "sneaking around silently". By the early 1920s, the shoes were worn by Olympic soccer players, national and international tennis champions, and college athletes. Today Keds is best know for its canvas shoes with rubber soles.
