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If you have trouble keeping track of the retro sneakers that currently reign supreme in the hearts of sneakerheads or if you are blissfully unaware, here’s a brief overview. Not too long ago, the list started and ended with the adidas Samba. However, the current title holder has never felt so threatened: threats to its dominance have come in the form of vintage runners and the rapid rise of the Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66. Lately, new models inspired by the brand’s own archives have joined the fray. The Gazelle, in particular, seems poised for a surge in popularity, but the retro silhouette currently vying for the throne is a bit darker: the adidas Handball Spezial, a slim and colorful sneaker that the three-striped brand first introduced in the 1970s.

New Yorkers may recall an Americanized form of handball found in public parks in the city, but the game originated in Germany over a century ago, where it became so popular that adidas, based in Herzogenaurach, began developing a shoe with a rubber sole specifically for the courts. In 1979, the Spezial was born.