Sperry or Sperry Top-Sider is the original American brand of boat shoe designed in 1935 by Paul A. Sperry, older brother of writer and illustrator Armstrong Sperry, whose books often featured a sailing theme. Sperry Top-Siders, were the first boat shoes introduced into the boating and footwear markets. Today the Sperry brand is owned by Wolverine World Wide and is headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts.
While sailing on the Long Island Sound, inventor and sailor Paul A. Sperry slipped on the deck of his boat and fell overboard. He was able to pull himself back on board, but the experience drove him to develop a non-slip shoe. While experimenting with possibilities for non-slip shoes, he noticed his dogs’ ability to run down the icy hill without slipping. The grooves on the paws of his cocker spaniel, Prince, inspired him to try cutting grooved patterns a natural rubber sole. The pattern of grooves or cracks on his dog’s paws gave him the idea for a canvas upper-shoe with a herringbone pattern of grooves on the sole.