--- title: "The Nike Blazer Was Named for Portland and Saved by Skaters" url: https://quietmenace.com/sneakers/nike-blazer-history/ author: Quiet Menace Editors section: Sneakers published: 2026-10-30 updated: 2026-10-30 topics: Sneaker History, Heritage Brands, Skate Culture, Collaborations --- # The Nike Blazer Was Named for Portland and Saved by Skaters > Nike's first serious basketball shoe went on court in calf leather in 1972 or 1973, depending on whom you ask. It lost the hardwood, found the skate park, and never really left. In December 1972, according to Nike's own history, a new high-top basketball shoe went on court for the first time. It had a calf leather upper, a big swoosh down the side and a rubber sole bonded to the upper by vulcanising, a process that only a few Japanese factories could handle at the time. Nike named it after the professional basketball team in its own backyard, the Portland Trail Blazers, who had only recently joined the league. It was the Blazer. Nike was brand new as a name in 1972, and its best-known early shoe, the [Cortez](https://quietmenace.com/sneakers/nike-cortez-history/), was built for runners. The Blazer was its first real attempt to win over basketball players, and fifty years later it is still in the catalogue. ## A shoe for a new team The name was a piece of local loyalty. The Portland Trail Blazers joined the NBA in 1970 as an expansion team and played their first season in 1970 to 1971, in the Memorial Coliseum. Nike describes them as having only recently joined the league when the shoe was named, and the club was still years away from success when the Blazer went on sale. The team won its only NBA championship in 1977, with Bill Walton named the most valuable player of the Finals. Naming a basketball shoe after a young local team was a modest choice for a company that would later sign the biggest stars in the game. It also tied the Blazer to Oregon from the start. ## 1972 or 1973 The launch year depends on the source. [Nike's history of the shoe](https://www.nike.com/a/blazer-history) says some players first wore prototypes of a shoe called the Bruin in 1972 and that the Blazer reached the court that December. Sotheby's, describing an original pair offered for sale, dates the Blazer's release to 1972, the company's first year, and calls it the first basketball shoe to carry the swoosh. [Wikipedia's entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike_Blazer) says the shoe was originally released in 1973. A 1973 Nike print advertisement showing the Blazer alongside the Cortez and the Greco was, Nike says, one of the first to show its products. The fairest reading is that the shoe was on court by the end of 1972 and in wide release by 1973. Either way, it was one of Nike's earliest shoes of any kind. The construction was simple. Wikipedia lists a leather upper, a nylon tongue and a rubber midsole. The original pair offered by Sotheby's had a white leather upper, a black swoosh, white suede on the outer side and cotton lining and laces. Nike says suede versions of the Bruin and the Blazer followed soon after the launch, in team colours. ![A brown suede Nike Blazer Mid with a black swoosh on a wooden boardwalk covered in autumn leaves](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1609408624369-d3929df82312?w=1600&h=1067&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop) *A brown suede Blazer Mid. Nike says suede versions followed soon after the launch. Photo by Klim Musalimov on Unsplash* ## The Iceman's shoe The Blazer's best-known early wearer was George Gervin. Born in Detroit in 1952, he played for the Virginia Squires in the ABA from 1973 to 1974 and then for the San Antonio Spurs from 1974 to 1985. He was called the Iceman for his calm on court. He won four NBA scoring titles, in 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1982, and was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996. Gervin became the first Nike athlete with a player exclusive shoe. His Blazer had ICEMAN printed on the heel where the word NIKE usually sat. Sotheby's names other players who wore the Blazer in its playing days, among them Geoff Petrie, World B. Free, Dennis Johnson and Darrel Griffith. Nike would later build much of its basketball business around signature athletes, and Gervin's heel was an early step in that direction. Before the endorsement deals and the signature lines, a player's nickname printed where the brand name should be was the whole idea. Here is the shoe's run through the decades, drawn from the sources above. The table is Quiet Menace's own. | Year | Blazer | What it added | |---|---|---| | 1972 | Bruin prototypes, then the Blazer | Calf leather, vulcanised rubber sole | | 1973 | Wide release, in Wikipedia's dating | Leather upper, nylon tongue | | Gervin's career | The ICEMAN Blazer | Nike's first player exclusive | | 2005 | Nike SB Blazer by Lance Mountain | Padded collar, Zoom Air insoles | | 2017 | Off-White Blazer | White upper, black swoosh | | 2019 | Sacai Blazer | Released in May and October colourways | ## Off the court, onto the board The Blazer did not stay a basketball shoe for long. As Nike puts it, the shoe's credibility off the court grew after Nike moved its basketball line on to more advanced technology, and skaters took it up. Nike formalised the relationship in 2005. That year, according to Wikipedia, the skateboarder Lance Mountain released a Nike SB version of the Blazer with a padded collar and Zoom Air insoles. Nike SB versions of the Blazer are still on sale today, in mid and low cuts. Our history of the [Nike Dunk](https://quietmenace.com/sneakers/nike-dunk-history/) tells the parallel story of another Nike basketball shoe that skaters adopted. ## The collaborators arrive The Blazer's second life brought designers. In September 2017 Virgil Abloh's Off-White released a Blazer as part of its collaboration with Nike, with a white upper, a white and tan midsole and a black swoosh. Our profile of [Virgil Abloh](https://quietmenace.com/culture/virgil-abloh-off-white-legacy/) covers that project in full. In May 2019 the Japanese label Sacai followed with Blazer colourways called Black Blue and Maize Navy, and two more, White Grey and Black Grey, came out that October. Wikipedia also records an "Upside Down" Blazer of 2019 with a light tan mesh and canvas upper. The shoe has become a blank canvas in the most literal sense, plain enough that a designer can change one detail and make it new. ## Wearing them now The Blazer is a slim shoe, so it sits best under straight or slightly tapered trousers that let the collar show. White leather with a black swoosh is the classic. Suede is the softer option. The SB versions add padding and Zoom Air if you plan to skate in them. A vintage pair from the 1970s is a collector's object now, the kind that turns up at auction houses rather than in shops, so the reissues are the ones to wear. For its nearest rivals, see our histories of the [Vans Old Skool](https://quietmenace.com/sneakers/vans-old-skool-history/) and the [Converse Chuck Taylor](https://quietmenace.com/sneakers/converse-chuck-taylor-history/). For more, see [sneaker history](https://quietmenace.com/topics/sneaker-history/), [skate culture](https://quietmenace.com/topics/skate-culture/), [Nike](https://quietmenace.com/brands/nike/) and the [Quiet Menace sneakers section](https://quietmenace.com/sneakers/). The Blazer was named after a basketball team and built for its players. Basketball moved on to newer technology, and the shoe stayed anyway, carried by skaters and then by designers. --- Filed under: [Sneaker History](https://quietmenace.com/topics/sneaker-history/), [Heritage Brands](https://quietmenace.com/topics/heritage-brands/), [Skate Culture](https://quietmenace.com/topics/skate-culture/), [Collaborations](https://quietmenace.com/topics/collaborations/) Hero image: Photo by Raul De Los Santos on Unsplash (Unsplash License)