New Balance

In 1906, William J. Riley, an Irish immigrant, founded the New Balance Arch Support Company (registered as New Balance Arch Support Company, Inc. and later registered as New Balance Arch Co., Inc.) in the Boston area, manufacturing arch supports and other accessories designed to improve shoe fit. His first product, a flexible arch support, was designed with three support points to provide greater balance and comfort in the shoe. It is believed that Riley came up with the name "New Balance" by observing chickens in his yard and demonstrated the way his arch supports worked by keeping a chicken foot on his office desk. He explained to customers that the chicken's three-pronged foot resulted in perfect balance. In 1927, Riley hired Arthur Hall to be a salesman. In 1934, Hall became a business partner.[4] The company later on did business under the name New Balance Athletic Shoe Company. In 1956, Hall sold the business to his daughter Eleanor and her husband Paul Kidd.[5]