What Ever Happened to Grosby, the Iconic Basketball Sneakers of Yesteryear?

While it may seem inconceivable now, there was a time when Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour didn't dominate the Filipino sneaker game. Long before even the likes of ACCEL footwear, a brand named Grosby had quite the grip on the local market. Chances are, we might have to ask our fathers or uncles about them. They were the definition of cool back in the day, in fact.

An Australian brand, Grosby was among the brands that were locally manufactured by Rubberworld Philippines (the company even had a license to make Adidas footwear at one point), which used to make bags, footwear, and the like.

Soon after arriving in the country, it would gain a reputation as one of the basketball sneakers, worn only by the biggest stars. The pairs were distributed through the Zenco Footwear network. Brands like Kaypee, Mighy Kid, and Islander were manufactured under Rubberworld, too.

Hanes Australia, formerly Pacific Brands, created branded footwear when it acquired Grosby in 1971. Grosby was a sports footwear and apparel/accessories company that was initially based in Australia. It had been around since 1926 and provided affordable footwear to Australians. Interestingly, Grosby would go on to have a special market in the Philippines, thanks of course to the local basketball scene.

How can you not recognize these faces?

Photo by COURTESY.

A Short History of Grosby

Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) stars used to wear them a lot. At one point, Grosby had such a big influence on Filipino sports that the Grosby Mythical Five was created. Names like Robert Jaworski, Mon Fernandez, Bogs Adornado, Abe King, and Atoy Co each had a specially designed Grosby PBA Mythical Five shoe.

When Rubberworld joined the PBA in 1983, it became the premier shoemaker in the country for a time. Grosby would benefit from this. The brand's athlete of choice to endorse them? None other than Billy Ray Bates, who was arguably Grosby's most important collaborator. The import had endeared himself to Filipino fans as "Black Superman." With the Crispa Redmanizers, the player would go on to be an icon for the team because of his high-flying plays. 

Bates was a PBA Champion and Best Import multiple times during his PBA career. Hence, the arrival of Grosby's Black Superman shoe, which became a smashing success. The most famous version might have been the one with blue, red, and white colorway. The Black Superman was even re-released in 2018 with the "Billy Ray Bates Special" print on the side panel.

"I recall that Crispa import Billy Ray Bates was so enamored of Grosby shoes that Rubberworld had to create new, outrageously colored models just for him," sportswriter Bill Velasco wrote. "Way before Michael Jordan wore black and red, Bates was sporting Philippine-made basketball sneakers in black, red, green, gray, yellow and other eye-catching combinations. This continued well into his days with crowd darling Ginebra to the early 1990’s."

Billy Ray Bates and PBA and Sports Photographer Tony Lu posing with Grosbys.

Photo by PH Sports Bureau.

The sneaker deal was one of the first major endorsement contracts between a player in the Philippines and a shoe brand. We can even make the argument that it paved the way for cagers like Alvin Patrimonio to strike a deal with Kaypee during the '90s. 

Unfortunately, Rubberworld, and to that extent Grosby, saw a turbulent end to their glorious run as sneaker kings during the 1990s. Changing Filipino consumer habits led to the decline of Grosby's popularity over the next few years. Shopping malls would open up the bridges for other brands, both local and international, to sell more of their products, allowing for wider choices.

ALSO READ:

What Ever Happened to the Legendary Salinas Salt Springs?

What Ever Happened to Netopia?

By the '90s, Rubberworld faced a series of financial woes, as well as legal disputes (only settled around 2017, apparently). It eventually shut down its operations in 1994. Adidas would go on to establish its presence here and the need for a local partner dissipated with its revival. Grosby eventually lost its luster.

In 2010, Hanes sold its Chinese Grosby shoe factory, which marked the company's exit from footwear manufacturing. By 2014, it sold its footwear and sports portfolio Brand Collective, which incorporated the fable footwear brand, as well.

Grosby would evetually leave the Philippines during the decade, as well. Apart from a short-lived comeback in 2008, it soon faded into obscurity yet again just a few years later. An article written by Manila Standard says that Grosby Philippines last posted about one of its basketball shoes in 2019. That was the Bruiser Sneakers Father's Day edition. By 2022, all that was left to see on its page was your regular walkers.

Over the years, we've seen the disparity between local and big players in the footwear business grow. Athletic shoe manufacturers have struggled to replicate the same success in the '80s. The middle market, as Philip Go, chairman of Sporteum, once pointed out, was for Kaypee and Grosby to take. Now, that just doesn't work anymore.

We may recall a brand like ACCEL trying to infiltrate that space for a few years. An honest attempt, too. At its peak, they took on endorsers like Barangay Ginebra stars Mark Caguioa and Jayjay Helterbrand, as well as Asi Taulava. It still didn't stand a chance against the competition.

Recently, Big Boy Cheng purchased a pair of Bogs Ardonado's Grosby sneakers from Boss Toyo for P300,000, prompting a lot of interesting memories attached to a shoe brand long gone. Adornado, the basketball hall of famer, had quite the run with Grosby. Now who can ever forget that form, right? It was always those Crispa players. The '80s were a very different time indeed.