Description: A piece of Americana!Made in Philadephia (Philly) Pennsylvania!An early wooden skateboard with metal wheels that was there to witness the entire birth of the industry!Circa 1960sSuper cool ... SIDEWALK SURFBOARD ...Just enough patina (and wear) to attest it's been around the block but nice and bright to display.21.25"L x 5.25" W Skateboarding was initially marketed to surfers as a cheaper/easier way to practice surfing aka "sidewalk surfing"...These came either a red or a blue versionImagine writing these gnarly, little, metal wheels, down a steep paved hill in California! ahhh.I package well and ship out daily!History: ...However, before skateboards there were scooters, sometimes known as kick scooters and push scooters. Varied forms of scooters have been traced back to the early 1900s, most of them made from wood, metal, or a combination of the two. Scooters had anywhere from two to four wheels. Some of the wheels were metal and others were similar to the wheels on pedal cars. In the 1940s and 1950s, crate scooters made popular sidewalk vehicles. Most crate scooters were handmade. They were relatively inexpensive and simple for kids to construct by using a milk crate or wooden fruit box and metal roller skate wheels attached to a wooden 2 x 4. Eventually kids started removing the boxes and handlebars and just started riding the board with wheels, reminiscent of the famous skateboard scene in the 1985 film Back to the Future. By 1959, the first mass produced skateboards emerged from the factory of Roller Derby Skateboards in La Miranda, California, and were sold in roller derby rinks throughout the United States and eventually through mail-order companies such as Sears.Boyle Mfg. trade sheet, about 1960, from The Stephen andDiane Olin Toy Catalog Collection, The Strong, Rochester,New York.By the early 1960s, skateboarding started luring participants from the surfer scene. In 1962 a southern California surf shop, Val Surf, began making its own brand of skateboards and struck a deal with Chicago Roller Skate Company for the wheels. The skateboards began to attract everyday surfers who could use the boards when they weren’t in the water, and thus the term “sidewalk surfer” was coined. Additionally, skateboarding gained popularity when Larry Stevenson, publisher of Surf Guide, promoted it in his monthly magazine. In 1963, Stevenson made the first professional skateboards using the Makaha brand and organized the first known skateboarding contest. That same year saw an evolution in skateboard design with the use of clay (also known as composite) wheels that replaced treacherous metal ones. Moving ahead, in 1964 surf and sailing entrepreneur Hobart “Hobie” Alter joined forces with Vita-Pakt company to make a line of Hobie skateboards; the Hobie line also sponsored several contests and professional skaters. Later that summer, the musical group Jan and Dean performed “Sidewalk Surfin” on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, an event which helped further popularize skateboarding with mainstream society.In 1965, the skateboarding sport peaked as manufacturers tried to keep up with the demand, cranking out an estimated 50 million skateboards between 1963 and 1965. In May, the world’s first skatepark, Surf City in Tucson, Arizona opened to the public...
Price: 401.25 USD
Location: Freeport, Maine
End Time: 2024-09-05T12:23:02.000Z
Shipping Cost: 16.49 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Return shipping will be paid by: Seller
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Brand: Metal Masters Inc
Type: Sidewalk Surfboard
Model: SURFER
Theme: The 60s
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States