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At a childrens party this weekend, a 4-year-old walked in wearing blue-and-white Velcro shoes from an unexpected signature athlete.Michael Jordan? Nope. LeBron James? Definitely not. Stephen Curry? Not these.They were Stan Smiths.It has always been a great shoe, Smith told ESPN in an exclusive interview. So clean and simple.How did little Sammy come to be wearing the shoes of a 69-year-old tennis player who was last No. 1 in the world eight years before the childs parents were born? Its thanks to what might be the greatest sneaker revival of all time.Adidas, which has made the sneakers for more than 50 years, now sells Stan Smiths in black, in pink, in blue, in mens, in womens, in kids and infant sizes. There are knit Stans, suede Stans and Stans that are dipped in gold. And if you cant find a pair to your liking, you can go online and customize your own. Youll see them on feet from New York to Tokyo. In its 2014 annual report, Adidas revealed that the Stan Smiths were the companys best-selling shoes of all time, with more than 40 million pairs sold. Buoyed by the Stan Smiths, sales of Adidas Classics in the U.S. are up 60 percent for the first six months of 2016.But Stan Smith -- the tennis player, not the sneaker -- started out as one of those guys who was just at the right place at the right time.In 1965, Adidas made a plain white tennis shoe with green accents for one of the best tennis players in the world at the time, Frenchman Robert Haillet. Unlike other Adidas shoes, it had perforated holes in place of companys iconic three stripes, and it displayed Haillets signature on the side.The shoes were popular at the time, as the leather made it the best performance shoe available, but Adidas thought it had a problem in 1971 when Haillet retired. Horst Dassler, the son of Adidas founder Adi Dassler, reached out to Donald Dell, the former U.S. Davis Cup captain who started a sports agency the year before with two tennis clients: Arthur Ashe and Stan Smith.Dell suggested Smith as a fill-in for the line. Though the ATP and its official rankings system hadnt been created yet, Smith was considered the best player in the world. Horst Dassler took Dells advice and signed Smith to a small, five-year deal. Adidas, judging by the way its executives acted, didnt have much faith that Smith had staying power. Although Smith was the lead endorser, he was wearing a shoe that still had Haillets name on it.I became friends with [Haillet] because of the shoe, Smith said. His son called me when Robert died in 2011. That son had also been upset years earlier, when Adidas took his fathers name off the shoe.That change came in 1978. Adidas put Smiths signature on the tongue of the sneaker for the first time, along with an image of Smith -- that strangely featured him without a mustache.My whole adult life I had one, save for a year [when I was] 23 and 24, Smith said.The signature, which features an S shared by both Stan and Smith, was created with the help of Kathy Andrews, a Delta flight attendant whod met Smith at an autograph signing years before.She thought I had a boring signature, so I did it with one S, Smith said.On the shoe heel, Adidas added another green panel with Smiths full name and the Adidas trident.In the 1980s, as the Stan Smiths started to lose relevance as tennis performance shoes, they started to become popular as fashion shoe. At some point, Smith got used to it.I was at the US Open in the early 90s, he said, and some young man recognized me and told me, Your shoe is really big in the hood.In 2001, his then 14-year-old daughter, Austin, told him he was famous.She told me that Jaysee had put me in his song, said Smith, who rotates through 50 pairs in his own personal collection. I said, Who is Jaysee? She said, No, its Jay Z.She wasnt kidding. Lampin in the Hamptons, the weekends man/The Stan Smith Adidas and the Campus, Jay Z says in a song on his 2001 album The Blueprint. Smith has also been name-checked in songs by A$AP Rocky, Joe Budden, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne, among others.As the shoe found a second life as an iconic element of fashion, Smith earned a flat fee each year until 2005, when Dell was able to convince Adidas officials that Smith deserved more -- a royalty structure paying him for each shoe sold. Neither Dell nor Smith would reveal how much Smith was earning from those sales, but it cant be too shabby given how hot the shoe now is.Im not making Michael Jordan money, Smith said, laughing, referencing the more than $100 million MJ is said to make each year in Nike royalties.In 2011, Adidas executives had a meeting with Smith and Dell. The executives told the pair that they felt the market was crowded and needed a little cleaning up. To that end, they were going to stop producing Stan Smiths for 2012 and 2013.I didnt like that idea, Smith said. But they knew exactly what they were doing.While the Stan Smiths were off the market, people didnt forget about them. In fact, the shoe still generated plenty of buzz, including in 2013, when Gisele Bundchen posed for the cover of Vogue Paris wearing only her Stan Smiths.On Jan. 14, 2014, a day Smith remembers well, the shoes returned to the market with much fanfare. Adidas sent shoes to influencers such as Pharrell Williams and Ellen DeGeneres, replacing Smiths face with the stars own.Absence had indeed made the heart grow fonder.Most strategic plans fail at execution, said Eric Liedtke, head of Adidas global brands. We got this one right.Like young kids who drink an Arnold Palmer today and wonder why a golfer is on the can, people arent buying the shoes because of Stan Smith. But he doesnt mind that Taylor Swift -- who was spotted wearing the shoes in Australia last month -- might not know who he is. Its enough that she was spotted wearing his shoes this summer.I tell my wife that 95 percent of people dont know that Im an actual person, said Smith, who runs an elite tennis program and a corporate hospitality company out of his home base in Hilton Head, S.C. Then she, of course, says the number is closer to 99 percent. Chicago White Sox Shirts . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. Chicago White Sox Pro Shop . -- Quarterback Will Finch threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, and Yannick Harou rushed in two scores as the No. https://www.cheapwhitesox.com/ . Klitschkos management company says the bout will be the Ukrainian fighters 25th world championship fight. The 1.83-meter (6-foot) Leapai defeated the previously unbeaten Denis Boytsov in November to become the WBOs mandatory challenger. Chicago White Sox Store . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. Chicago White Sox Gear . The formidable trio of Canadian receivers -- individually known as Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz -- will share the field at Mosaic Stadium one more time on Sunday.Its make or break time for the Sky Academy Sports Scholars as they enter the final stages of their battle to make the Rio Olympics. The brutal truth is that some of the Scholars will be on that plane to Brazil in the summer. Some will not. Tony Lester, Scholarship boss since 2013, has seen it all and hes only too aware of the challenges awaiting the athletes.As a coach, hes steered runners Roger Black and Marlon Devonish to Olympic glory. For the journey to Rio, hes been wearing his Sky hat, nurturing some of Britains and Irelands top talent by overseeing an extensive tailored programme of support, with a little less shouting trackside.So what does the next six months hold for the Scholars? How calm are they? What makes an Olympic champion?Here are Tonys thoughts on a thrilling and gut-wrenching climax to the latest cycle of the Sky Academy Sports Scholarship programme...The clock is ticking. For many of these guys, its a key time in their careers. Only two of the Scholars have qualified - runner Mark English and pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw - but they still have to show fitness and if something happens like losing form or an injury then theyll be playing catch up.Its a tough time and the pressures on. They have to deliver, stay in shape and laser their focus on getting the job done. Its a two-part job now. The first is getting on the plane to Rio. The second is to compete and deliver. Usain Bolt: Has become the saviour of athletics Its sport though and theres no half measure. Its all or nothing. For these guys who are up against it in terms of qualifying, theyve had four years to prepare for this. It will be the first attempt at making an Olympics for some, for others it will be their second.The ones on the second round of trying to make it and not succeeding, its hard but lessons will be learned. Every time a mistake is made, something is learned.All the Scholars are excited and looking forward to the next six months. Some are competing, preparing for the indoor season, some are on training camps and some are just doing their thing. They know they are halfway down the road to Rio and others know its a long way to go and still have to clear a lot of obstacles.We cant afford to get involved in any emotional distractions though. Im not their coach, Sky as a business arent their coaches, so we have to stand back and watch the story unfold.I can be distant from all of this but because you know what theyre going through with all the emotions and pressures, I can become that other mentor. Tonys commitment to nurturing the Scholars has taken him to the US Ive been with Olympic teams and gone through the selection process and I can talk to them at that level. But I never get involved in the coaching aspect. I caant afford to give wrong messages.ddddddddddddI wont impose my opinions heavily because that creates a conflict between me and the coach. I stand back. I can speak to the Scholars about agents and other stuff, but ultimately its their career and not mine.I started leading the Scholarship in 2013. The scheme involving the London Scholars was really a pilot to see how Sky could get involved and support British athletes. The learning from this is we can be a lot broader.I made the call to go for Olympic sports again. For the majority of athletes, an Olympics is the pinnacle of their sport, whereas in football or rugby you have World Cups. But going forward we are starting to engage with other sports.What makes an Olympic champion is something Im often asked. You need talent. You cant become a champion without being good at what you do. You need to perfect you craft, day in, day out, with diligence and toughness. Speed skater Dan Jansen experienced an emotional Winter Games in 1988 But one other thing you need is a lot of luck. You can be the best in the world but a week out from a Games you can catch a virus or pull a muscle or land heavily. You cannot undo that damage.For anybody who doesnt know the story of speed skater Dan Jansen I suggest you look him up. The American overcame grief to win Olympic gold in the final race of his career in 1994 in Lillehammer. His story is what makes an Olympic champion. Check him out please.My other Olympic heroes are two people for very different reasons.From my era it has to be Daley Thompson, as he epitomises the true values of hard work, total self-belief and he was not afraid to show in class with his in your face attitude to all those who dared to challenge his superiority.Plus theres Usain Bolt, as being Jamaican I have a strong loyalty to my heritage. Jamaica has had a history of producing great sprinters from such a small island, this makes me extremely proud to be Jamaican. Tony coached while he was in the army before linking up with the GB team Furthermore Usain has become the saviour of a currently dysfunctional sport that sadly we all still love, and live in hope of it cleaning up its act.And so its down to the final six months for the Scholars. Is there one bit of advice Id offer them?Stick to the task and dont change your plans - youve done it all already. Why would you change what youve done over the last three years?Its worked so far, so any changes now would mean youre panicking or youve lost your self-belief. Keep that simplicity. Also See: About the Scholarship Meet the athletes Blogs Videos Galleries ' ' '