History of inline skates

In 1979, Scott Olson, a hockey player from Minneapolis, discovered the Super Sport Skate. He began selling them to local hockey players as a licensed distributor and soon started modifying them. Olson, his brothers, and his friends replaced the stock boots with customers' old hockey boots and swapped out the original wheels for polyurethane ones. Through further tinkering, prototyping and road testing everywhere he could, Olson eventually arrived at a skate design with an adjustable/expandable frame, polyurethane wheels and double ball bearings. The skate rolled faster, and remained more reliable on road surfaces. However, a patent search revealed that the Chicago Roller-Blade already covered many of these features. In 1981, Olson persuaded the Chicago Roller Skate Company to transfer the patent to him in exchange for a share of future profits.

In 1979, Scott Olson, a hockey player from Minneapolis, discovered the Super Sport Skate. He began selling them to local hockey players as a licensed distributor and soon started modifying them. Olson, his brothers, and his friends replaced the stock boots with customers' old hockey boots and swapped out the original wheels for polyurethane ones. Through further tinkering, prototyping and road testing everywhere he could, Olson eventually arrived at a skate design with an adjustable/expandable frame, polyurethane wheels and double ball bearings. The skate rolled faster, and remained more reliable on road surfaces. However, a patent search revealed that the Chicago Roller-Blade already covered many of these features. In 1981, Olson persuaded the Chicago Roller Skate Company to transfer the patent to him in exchange for a share of future profits.

Thus began the modern history of inline skates, with Olson's company eventually becoming known as Rollerblade, Inc. by around 1988. The registered trademark "Rollerblade" became so well-known that it entered common usage as a generic term. Around this time, the company began promoting the term "in-line" skating in an effort to prevent "rollerblading" from becoming a verb. The campaign proved effective, as media outlets, newspapers, and competitors adopted "in-line skating" as the preferred term by 1990. The phrase was soon shortened to "inline," the name by which these skates are known today.

Thus began the modern history of inline skates, with Olson's company eventually becoming known as '''Rollerblade, Inc.''' by around 1988. The registered trademark "Rollerblade" became so well-known that it entered common usage as a generic term. Around this time, the company began promoting the term '''in-line''' skating in an effort to prevent "rollerblading" from becoming a verb. The campaign proved effective, as media outlets, newspapers, and competitors adopted "in-line skating" as the preferred term by 1990. The phrase was soon shortened to '''inline''', the name by which these skates are known today.

Modern inline skates became practical for mass production and appealing as a recreational activity once key technologies came together. These included polyurethane wheels, ISO 608 standard ball bearings, and molded plastic boots. These skates incorporate double ball bearings with dual-purpose axles from Chomin Harry (1925), single-piece frames from Christian Siffert (1938), adjustable wheel rockering from Gordon Ware (1966), single-unit boot/frame, longer frames and larger wheels from Maury Silver (1975), plus additional innovations.

Modern inline skates became practical for mass production and appealing as a recreational activity once key technologies came together. These included polyurethane wheels, ISO 608 standard ball bearings, and molded plastic boots. These skates incorporate double ball bearings with dual-purpose axles from Chomin Harry (1925), single-piece frames from Christian Siffert (1938), adjustable wheel rockering from Gordon Ware (1966), single-unit boot/frame, longer frames and larger wheels from Maury Silver (1975), plus additional innovations.