<Tr> <Th> Parent </Th> <Td> Wolverine World Wide </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> http://www.sperry.com </Td> </Tr> <P> 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 . Sperrys, or 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 Waltham, Massachusetts . </P> <P> 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 into (siping) 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 . </P>

Who invented the iconic sperry boat shoes we love as today