Editing Inline skates (section)

===Precursors to modern inline skates===

[[File:Chomin Harry-US1527840A-1925-Skate-Patent Drawing-FIG 1 n FIG 2.png|thumb|right|300px|Axle as threaded bolt - Harry 1925]]

From the 1910s to the 1970s, many more variations of single-line wheeled skates were patented and manufactured. While still in the shadow of 2x2 roller skates, some of these started to gain popularity amongst [[Ice hockey|ice hockey players]], by the 1960s and 1970s, due to their better emulation of ice blades.

In 1925, the US patent office granted Chomin Harry of Canada a patent for a skate frame that gave each wheel axle dual purposes: 1) interlocking with the inner race of double ball bearings, as an axle, and 2) being threaded into one sidewall of the wheel frame, as a bolt. This enabled easy wheel replacement, and allowed an ice blade to be attached in place of the wheels.<ref>{{Cite patent
|country=US
|number=1527840
|fdate=1924-05-08
|pubdate=1925-02-24
|gdate=1925-02-24
|title=Skate
|inventor1-first=Chomin
|inventor1-last=Harry
}}</ref>

[[File:Siffert Christian-US2113862A-1938-Roller Skate-Patent Drawing-FIGs 1 n 3-padded.png|thumb|right|280px|Single-piece frame - Siffert 1938]]

In 1938, Christian Siffert secured a patent on a roller skate frame resembling 21st century inline skates, complete with a heel brake. The frame accommodated 3 wheels. This odd selection of wheel numbers was intentional and led to the patented claim. It allowed the frame to be economically cut from a single sheet of metal, where portions of sidewalls were repurposed into parts of toe and heel plates, leaving voids seen on sidewalls. This was one of the very few pre-Rollerblade frames where two sidewalls of a frame were permanently connected. The resulting single-piece frame was lighter, stronger and cheaper than previous designs.<ref>{{Cite patent
|country=US
|number=2113862
|fdate=1936-04-27
|pubdate=1938-04-12
|gdate=1938-04-12
|title=Roller skate
|inventor1-first=Siffert
|inventor1-last=Christian
}}</ref> This skate was produced and sold by Siffert himself initially in 1941, by Best Ever Built Skate Co. (BEB) thereafter, and later as "Jet Skate" by AFCO Products Inc. in 1948.<ref>{{cite magazine
| author      = <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->
| title       = Ad by Siffert & Moore MFG. Co.
| url         = https://books.google.com/books?id=mtkDAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA170
| magazine    = Popular Mechanics
| volume      = 76
| number      = 1
| page        = 170
| location    = Chicago
| publisher   = Popular Mechanics Company
| date        = July 1941
| access-date = 2024-12-18
}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine
| author      = <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->
| title       = Jet Skate Ad by AFCO Products Inc.
| url         = https://books.google.com/books?id=xtgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA275
| magazine    = Popular Mechanics
| volume      = 89
| number      = 4
| page        = 275
| location    = Chicago
| publisher   = Popular Mechanics Company
| date        = April 1948
| access-date = 2024-12-18
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.inlineplanet.com/History/siffertjetskate.html
|title=The Illustrated History of Inline Skate Design At the U.S. Patent Office: Siffert's Jet Skate, 1938
|website=The Inline Planet
|author-first=Robert
|author-last=Burnson
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207211716/https://www.inlineplanet.com/History/siffertjetskate.html
|archive-date=2021-12-07
}}</ref>{{efn-ua|See pictures of Siffert's skates sold by Best Ever Built Skate Co at [https://www.rollerenligne.com/dossier/best-ever-built-skate-co-un-patin-a-roues-alignees-de-1936-1938/ Le Roller en Ligne].<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.rollerenligne.com/dossier/best-ever-built-skate-co-un-patin-a-roues-alignees-de-1936-1938/
|title=Best Ever Built Skate Co : un patin à roues alignées de 1936/1938
|website=Le Roller en Ligne
|date=25 December 2020
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241220050443/https://www.rollerenligne.com/dossier/best-ever-built-skate-co-un-patin-a-roues-alignees-de-1936-1938/
|archive-date=2024-12-20
}}</ref> The National Museum of Roller Skating has the Siffert skate in its collection. See this [https://web.archive.org/web/20070709161553/http://www.rollerskatingmuseum.com/images/full_size/inline_skates.jpg archived picture] from its earlier, now defunct, website. Also refer to a picture shown [https://radio-guy.com/product/1920s-beb-skate-co-3-wheel-in-line/ here], archived [https://web.archive.org/web/20241220051111/https://radio-guy.com/product/1920s-beb-skate-co-3-wheel-in-line/ here].
}}

{{multiple image
 | direction = vertical
 | width1 = 300
 | caption1 = Adjustable frame - Ware 1966
 | image1 = Gordon K Ware-US3287023A-1966-Roller skate-Adjustable rockered frame-Patent Drawing-FIGs 1 2 3.png
 | width2 = 200
 | caption2 = Chicago Roller-Blade - 1965
 | image2 = Chicago Roller Blade-inline skate from ca 1965-patented by Gordon Ware-pic by Ojibwa-P1360137.jpg
}}

In 1966, Gordon K Ware, one of the Ware brothers who founded the successful Chicago Roller Skate Company, obtained a patent for a skate with multiple frame segments that overlapped. In this design, wheel axles served a second purpose - that of securing overlapping segments through specific axle holes. This allowed the frame to adjust to various shoes and sizes. In addition, the front wheel and the rear wheel could be placed higher than the middle two, to create various rockered wheel setups for better turning. Wheels were mounted on double ball bearings. This skate could be customized for different needs from different sports, including figure skating, speed skating, and ice hockey.<ref name=Gordon-Ware-patent-US3287023A>{{Cite patent
|country=US
|number=3287023
|fdate=1964-07-16
|pubdate=1966-11-22
|gdate=1966-11-22
|title=Roller skate
|inventor1-first=Gordon K
|inventor1-last=Ware
}}</ref>{{efn-ua|The National Museum of Roller Skating has the Gordon Ware Chicago skate in its collection. See this [https://web.archive.org/web/20140227002043/http://www.rollerskatingmuseum.com/Chicago%20Rollerblade.jpg archived picture] from its earlier, now defunct, website. This [https://web.archive.org/web/20151219010153/http://www.rollerskatingmuseum.com/downloads/Aug%202015.pdf archived August 2015 newsletter] shows a better picture of the same Chicago skate. The same skate with a low-cut shoe was shown in a Washington State History Museum [https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/25/2213240/-Washington-State-History-Museum-Roller-Skates-photo-diary exhibit on Roller Skates] in 2023. See [https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52804888894_ac78a4cb26_h.jpg this picture], archived [https://web.archive.org/web/20241228023436/https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52804888894_ac78a4cb26_h.jpg here]. Also see archive pictures [https://web.archive.org/web/20241222003053/https://i.etsystatic.com/11866247/r/il/9b1adf/2118008727/il_1588xN.2118008727_idcm.jpg one], [https://web.archive.org/web/20241222003314/https://i.etsystatic.com/11866247/r/il/f6b0bd/2118008585/il_1588xN.2118008585_qx5j.jpg two], [https://web.archive.org/web/20241222003050/https://i.etsystatic.com/11866247/r/il/f5d08c/2118008519/il_1588xN.2118008519_52u3.jpg three] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20241222003053/https://i.etsystatic.com/11866247/r/il/3f3ac2/2118008735/il_1588xN.2118008735_o7tn.jpg four] from an antique listing.
}}

{{multiple image
 | direction = vertical
 | footer = USSR skates from 1962
 | width1 = 300
 | image1 = USSR inline skate-from 1962-by alextreme-side view.jpg
 | width2 = 180
 | image2 = USSR inline skate-from 1962-by alextreme-wheels.jpg
}}

The inspiration for this Chicago skate came from off-season training skates used by Russian speed skating teams in the 1960s. Barbara Lockhart of the US Olympic speed skating team brought a pair back to the US.  [[Montgomery Ward]] commissioned 25,000 pairs of these, and advertised them in 1965 catalogs as excellent off-ice training tools for figure skating and ice hockey. The skate was sold under the name "Roller-Blade", coined by Joe Shevelson of the Chicago Roller Skate Co. Ladies' version came with high-cut leather shoes, and men's version medium-cut leather shoes. Montgomery Ward could not sell the inventory, so the skate was soon discontinued.<ref name=Shevelson-golden-days-of-skating/><ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/chicago-roller-skate-co/
|title=Chicago Roller Skate Co., est. 1905
|website=Made In Chicago Museum
|date=28 November 2021
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241203222423/https://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/chicago-roller-skate-co/
|archive-date=2024-12-03
}}</ref>{{efn-ua|name=chicago-roller-blade-ads|See ads for the Chicago Roller-Blade in the 1965 Fall & Winter Montgomery Ward catalog, [http://www.thecatalogblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/mw65-wheels1.jpg page 1082], archived [https://web.archive.org/web/20241222023137/http://www.thecatalogblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/mw65-wheels1.jpg here], and in the 1965 Spring & Summer Catalog, [https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalogPage/1965-Montgomery-Ward-Spring-Summer-Catalog/0846 page 846], archived [https://web.archive.org/web/20241222024629/http://web.archive.org/screenshot/https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalogPage/1965-Montgomery-Ward-Spring-Summer-Catalog/0846 here].
}}

Up to this time, almost all roller skates were of the "clamp-on" variety - they were strapped to a skater's own shoes or boots.<ref name=Shevelson-golden-days-of-skating>{{cite magazine
| author      = <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->
| title       = Joseph Shevelson interviewed by Paul A. Dunn and Sharry Beck Paprocki on the Golden Days of Skating
| url         = https://www.networkistics.com/sample/asufoundation/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/1990-July-Roller-Skater.pdf
| magazine    = Skaters
| volume      = 1
| number      = 1: Premier Issue
| date        = June–July 1990
| pages        = 12–18
| location    = Mt. Morris, IL
| publisher   = CFW Enterprises, Inc
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240619204436/https://www.networkistics.com/sample/asufoundation/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/1990-July-Roller-Skater.pdf
| archive-date = 2024-06-19
| access-date = 2024-12-20
}}</ref> In his patent application, Ware instead described his skate as explicitly designed to be permanently riveted to any shoes a user desired to use. This borrowed from the ice hockey industry which, by 1908, routinely riveted ice blades to hockey boots, resulting in improved stability and performance for skaters.<ref name=Gordon-Ware-patent-US3287023A/>

[[File:Morris L Maury Silver-US3880441A-1975-Tandem roller hockey skate-Patent Drawing-Rearranged.png|thumb|right|300px|Single-unit hockey skate - Silver 1975]]

In 1975, Morris (Maury) Silver received a patent on a "Tandem Roller Hockey Skate". The key claim of this patent was the single-unit nature of the skate, where a wheel frame was permanently attached to a hockey boot. Prior patents on roller skates did not claim a boot as part of the apparatus. In this patent, the boot was part of the "roller hockey skate". This skate was equipped with larger wheels than those in prior designs. The front wheel was positioned farther forward, and the rear wheel farther back, for enhanced speed and balance, as required for hockey. Both front and rear wheels can be shifted upward in their slotted mounting holes for a rockered wheel setup. The patent and drawings specified the use of roller bearings, when ball bearings had become commonplace by this time.<ref name="maury-silver-tandem-skate-1975">{{Cite patent
|country=US
|number=3880441
|fdate=1973-11-08
|pubdate=1975-04-29
|gdate=1975-04-29
|title=Tandem roller hockey skate
|inventor1-first=Morris L
|inventor1-last=Silver
}}</ref>

Silver developed his skate with his friend, [[Ralph Backstrom]], a Canadian hockey player from the [[Montreal Canadiens]]. Backstrom briefly played for the [[Los Angeles Kings]] from 1970 to 1973, and would train off-season with this skate. Their company marketed the skate under the label Super Sport Skate (or Super Street Skate), as an off-ice training tool for ice hockey players.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2007/05/ralph-backstrom-and-bill-hicke.html <!-- Pelletier is a hockey writer, and wrote for Greatest Hockey Legends, but Wikipedia doesn't like/trust blogspot.com. I understand. -->
|title=Ralph Backstrom
|website=Greatest Hockey Legends
|first1=Joe
|last1=Pelletier
|date=2007-05-07
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240623120115/https://habslegends.blogspot.com/2007/05/ralph-backstrom.html
|archive-date=2024-06-23
}}</ref><ref name="ross-holland-rollerblade">{{cite book
|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/100greatbusiness0000ross/page/151/mode/1up
|title=100 Great Businesses and the Minds Behind Them
|chapter=Rollerblade - Live your product
|pages=151–155
|location=Naperville, Illinois
|publisher=Sourcebooks, Inc.
|year=2006
|isbn=978-1402206313
|access-date=2024-12-20
|first1=Emily
|last1=Ross
|first2=Angus
|last2=Holland
}}</ref><ref name="joyner-guide-inline-skating">{{cite book
|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/completeguideres0000joyn/page/22/mode/2up
|title=The complete guide & resource to in-line skating
|chapter=Profile: Scott Olson
|pages=22–24
|location=Cincinnati, Ohio
|publisher=Betterway Books
|year=1993
|isbn=155870289X
|access-date=2024-12-20
|first1=Stephen Christopher
|last1=Joyner
}}</ref>{{efn-ua|name=silver-super-sport-skate-ads-pics|See [https://web.archive.org/web/20241218042955/https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/~bkAAOSw~I5jfSNO/s-l1600.webp ad for Super Sport Skates] endorsed by Ralph Backstrom in "Faceoff" 73 / 74 season by World Hockey Association.<ref>{{cite magazine
| author      = <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->
| title       = Ad for Super Sport Skates by Super Skate Inc. sponsored by Ralph Backstrom
| url         = https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/~bkAAOSw~I5jfSNO/s-l1600.webp
| magazine    = Faceoff 73 / 74 season
| publisher   = World Hockey Association
| year        = 1973
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20241218042955/https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/~bkAAOSw~I5jfSNO/s-l1600.webp
| access-date = 2024-12-21
| archive-date = 18 December 2024
}}</ref> Also see archived pictures [https://web.archive.org/web/20241222040944/https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/N4MAAOSwUNJnH8o~/s-l1600.webp one], [https://web.archive.org/web/20241222041243/https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/MFsAAOSwgvhnH8o~/s-l1600.webp two], [https://web.archive.org/web/20241222041321/https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/-KcAAOSwHfhnH8o~/s-l1600.webp three] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20241222041359/https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/isQAAOSwRk1nH8o~/s-l1600.webp four], from an antique listing.
}}

[[File:Lange-molded plastic hockey skates-from 1970s-by Fenkelllparts-landscape.jpg|thumb|right|260px|Lange hockey skates - 1970s]]

Meanwhile, another [[Roller sports|roller sport]], [[skateboarding]], became popular in the 1960s. Avid ocean surfers adopted skateboards with rubber wheels during downtimes. In the 1970s, the increasingly popular sport of skateboarding reached new heights with the advent of [[polyurethane]]  wheels and their superior performance. Some of these polyurethane skateboard wheels were in fact made by the Chicago Roller Skating Co.<ref>{{cite magazine
| author      = <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->
| title       = The Roller Renaissance: Forgiving, quiet urethane wheels and new suspension tricks have put a great sport back on its feet
| url         = https://books.google.com/books?id=YM8DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA94
| magazine    = Popular Mechanics
| volume      = 151
| number      = 6
| page        = 94
| location    = Chicago
| publisher   = Popular Mechanics Company
| date        = June 1979
| access-date = 2024-12-20
}}</ref><ref name="washingtonpost-reinvention-of-wheel-2004">{{cite news
|author=<!--not stated-->
|date=2004-08-17
|title=A Reinvention Of the Wheel
|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6502-2004Aug16.html
|url-status=live
|newspaper=Washington Post
|first=Eric M.
|last=Weiss
|location=Washington DC
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808201310/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6502-2004Aug16.html
|archive-date=2007-08-08
|access-date=2024-12-20
}}</ref><ref name=Shevelson-golden-days-of-skating/><ref name="museum-of-roller-skating-history-of-roller-skating-1997"/>{{rp|20–22}}

At the same time, in the 1960s, the ski boot manufacturer [[Lange (ski boots)|Lange]] launched the first molded plastic ski boots furnished with liners.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://lange-ski-boots.blogspot.com/1970/01/early-days-1957-to-1963.html
|title=The early years - 1957 to 1963
|website=Lange - The History of an All-American Brand
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231124151740/https://lange-ski-boots.blogspot.com/1970/01/early-days-1957-to-1963.html
|archive-date=2023-11-24
|access-date=2024-12-27
}}</ref> Lange then entered the ice hockey market in the 1970s with similar plastic hard boots, gaining some success. These boots were rigid to provide proper support for aggressive hockey skating. Yet they featured soft inner liners to provide a comfortably fit, despite the use of hard shells. A pivoting cuff is riveted to the boot, allowing a player to forward flex.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://lange-ski-boots.blogspot.com/2009/02/from-racing-glory-to-flo-leakage-1970.html
|title=From racing glory to bleeding "Flo" - 1970 to 1973
|website=Lange - The History of an All-American Brand
|date=2009-02-01 <!-- manually entered based on URL of the page. This article was not written in 1970: ARPANET was just being built. -->
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231124151648/https://lange-ski-boots.blogspot.com/2009/02/from-racing-glory-to-flo-leakage-1970.html
|archive-date=2023-11-24
|access-date=2024-12-27
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.iceskatehistory.co.uk/lange
|title=Lange Ice Skates (with many pictures)
|website=Ice Skate History
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211229115002/https://www.iceskatehistory.co.uk/lange
|archive-date=2021-12-29
}}</ref>{{efn-ua|See archives of ads for Lange Hockey Skates: [https://web.archive.org/web/20241222044836/https://www.ebay.com/itm/143921044999 1974], [https://web.archive.org/web/20241222044849/https://www.ebay.com/itm/143541585682 1977] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20241222044909/https://www.ebay.com/itm/115523188426 1979].
}}

Both polyurethane wheels and plastic hard boots would soon be borrowed for modern inline skating, to be combined with the best ideas from precursor skates, leading to the rise of Rollerblade in the 80s and its wide adoption by the general population.<ref name=Shevelson-golden-days-of-skating/><ref name="powell-svensson-inline-skating"/>{{rp|7}}