A Goodyear welt is a strip of leather, rubber, or plastic that runs along the perimeter of a shoe outsole.[1] The machinery used for the process was invented in 1869 by Charles Goodyear Jr., the son of Charles Goodyear.[2] It has been noted by historians that Goodyear was a frequent visitor to the shoe factory of William J. Dudley, founder of Johnston & Murphy, where early work on sole stitching equipment was performed.[3]