B.F. Goodrich/Hood Rubber Cousy "Hints"

The Hood Rubber Company was founded in Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1896 by brothers Frederic Clark Hood and Arthur Needham Hood. At its peak, Hood produced 90,000 pairs of shoes a day! In August 1929, Hood Rubber Company was purchased by B.F. Goodrich Company of Akron, Ohio. B.F. Goodrich Co. relocated its own footwear division to Watertown. The plant operated until its closure in 1969. The Hood Rubber Company name continued to be used until the late 1950s. The Robert Bruce basketball bibliography says that "Basketball Hints" booklets were published starting in 1924. Booklets were produced saying Hood Rubber Company or B.F. Goodrich (either Footwear Corp. or Footwear Division. There are also cases where Draper-Maynard Co. and other companies placed their names on the front cover. However, within the content, those companies are never mentioned. Hood and B.F. Goodrich booklets differ in cover color, first page introduction, and advertisements. Early editions were attributed to groups of famous coaches. The early books are great books at a reasonable price. These books are no-frills on the outside with great content on the inside. From 1948-52, a format change occurred where the booklets were much smaller and were written by Coach Ozzie Cowles, head coach for the University of Minnesota. Starting in 1952-53, booklets were more focused on "fundamentals for young athletes" and were in some cases, multi-sport books. These booklets continued to be produced in two company names. Finally, Bob Cousy basketball hints books were produced until 1960. It is yet to be determined the total scope of years these were produced.

1956/57 B-Ball Hints_Hood_Cousy

1957/58 B-Ball Hints_Hood_Cousy

1958/59 B-Ball Hints_Hood_Cousy