The story of Saucony is actually a story of two companies. The first was founded in Kutztown, PA where 4 businessmen opened a shoe factory by Sacony creek. The second began in Cambridge, MA in 1910, under the name of Hyde Athletic Industries.
Hyde was founded by a Russian immigrant and specialized in athletic footwear. Over the years they began to gain notoriety especially thanks to two of the its brands, SpotBilt and PF Flyers. By the 1960s, Hyde had become a successful footwear brand and would end up buying and relocating Saucony to Massachusetts.
Saucony quickly became Hyde’s most popular brand thanks to its innovations in running footwear. By 1979, Saucony was considered to be an elite running shoe, much like Seattle based Brooks. Two of the brands models had been selected in the top 10 by Runner’s World magazine and the demand for the product had never been higher.
In the late 1980s Saucony had become Hyde’s dominant brand, and Hyde decided to change the company name to Saucony.
Saucony’s shoe boxes traditionally had the phrase “sock a knee” printed on them, which is the correct pronunciation of the company name and the logo represents the creek and the and the boulders that line it.
