Frankly, Dan "Chief" Simmons was concerned.
Simmons, the longtime equipment manager for the New Orleans Saints, looked at the football "shoe" receiver Bob Newland showed him and for the life of him, Simmons couldn't quite see how that shoe would adequately provide effective footing for Newland on the poly-turf at Tulane Stadium.
"He came to me and asked me – he was showing them to me and everything – and he said, 'Is it OK? Can I wear these?'" said Simmons, who held his position from 1973-2014. "And I said, 'Yeah.' And he said, 'This is something that Nike just came out with and they're going to make for turf, we're on turf fields.'
"And I looked at them and I couldn't believe it, because you could take the shoes up and fold them and stick them in your hip pocket. They were really thin, lightweight, there was nothing to it. I was concerned about the support because there was really none.
"But they had the Nike waffle-type bottom on them, and he wore those. I was concerned because back then we weren't sure about how they would work on artificial turf. But he wore 'em and it's kind of history after that."
History, as in this: Newland, a University of Oregon receiver who was the Saints' seventh-round draft pick (No. 172 overall) in 1971, was the first NFL player to score a touchdown wearing Nike shoes, and helped usher in the proliferation of Nike usage which helped lead to a current extension of alliance between the NFL and Nike, as the sides announced Nike exclusively will continue to provide NFL uniforms through 2038.
Newland's Astrograbber shoes did, indeed, provide the footing he needed. Newland died in 2021 at the age of 72.
Throughout his NFL career – 1971-74, all with the Saints – he caught 124 passes for 1,877 yards and eight touchdowns. But Newland's status as a Nike legend was cemented in the season-opening game of his second season, on Sept. 17, 1972, when he caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Archie Manning in the second quarter against the Rams.
Newland caught six touchdown passes from Manning and two from Bobby Scott in his career.
"(The shoes) were sent to him from Nike," said Newland's widow, Christie. "Bob was born in Medford, Ore., (and) he grew up in Eugene, Ore., and he knew Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight through track.
"His family was very involved; his father was an athlete and a track coach, and was a best friend of Bill Bowerman along with Phil Knight (co-founders of Nike in 1971). That was the affiliation Bob had and along with that, he worked for Nike in the offseason when he was playing for the Saints.
"So they would send the shoes."
At that time, Nike didn't have a shoe for playing on grass, with screw-in spikes.
"So he would wear that because we were on the turf," Simmons said. "He had no problems with it, I was just concerned about there being too much grip with those things. But it worked out well."
It worked out so well that the shoes which were novelties became shoes that were in demand in the locker room.
"Once (teammates) saw them, they became popular, all of them wanted a pair," Simmons said. "Especially the receivers and guys like that, they wanted a pair of them.
"I don't think they were over the counter yet. I don't think they were selling them at that time. With Bobby, being a Nike guy and from Oregon, they had some for him."
Nike acknowledges the alliance at its headquarters in Beaverton, Ore.
"They have a Walk of Fame for athletes at the Nike headquarters," Christie Newland said. "Bob's plaque (is there)."
These days his footprint remains in the NFL, signified by the continued alliance between the league and the athletic apparel giant.
