Last night Sneaker News hit you with a small feature of Reebok’s best and brightest from the 1990’s. That go us thinking – Reebok deserves every bit as much as any other brand to be featured in our Classics Revisited segment, so we’re going to hit you with a streak of five of Reebok’s most memorable sneakers from the 90’s – starting with the Reebok Big Hurt. The shoes were designed for the power-slugging Frank Thomas, who spent the bulk of his career with the Chicago White Sox as an offensive weapon that drew contact for power and for average, winning the MVP crown twice in his career. Frank played a major role in one of Reebok’s most memorable ad campaigns in history called ‘Planet Reebok’, which placed him next to Shaquille O’neal, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Chang as four elite athletes in their respective fields.
The Reebok Big Hurt footwear line started with the 1995 version, which featured the logo-shaped ankle-strap, but quite frankly, the shoe wasn’t much different from the Reebok designs of the time. Our focus is on the 1996 design that followed – one of the most unique sneaker designs in history; during that time, Reebok began emphasizing dynamic designs while using a minimalist logo-branding on the shoes, seen in classic releases like the Shaqnosis, Kamikaze, Blast, and more. The Big Hurt of 1996 followed suit with a black/white striped upper and a triplet of small Reebok logos with a midsole structure that was more battle-tank than agile sneaker. Then again, Frank Thomas is more of a battle-tank than a human being, so it seemed to mesh well with his 6’4″, 240 lb. frame. More of this forgotten classic after the jump, so stay tuned for more revisited Reeboks this week and let us know what you think about this insane design!
Reebok Big Hurt
Frank Thomas Signature Shoe
1996
