The Beginning
Horner Sports Flooring is named after William Horner. Born in 1852, William moved to Reed City, Michigan in 1882. There, he founded Horner, set up a planing mill and began making hard wood flooring in 1891. A second mill was set up in Newberry, Michigan in 1914. Between the two plants, at the height of their production, Horner flooring mills produced 40 million square feet of flooring per year.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, wood flooring was used in homes, schools, offices, and factories. It was in a school in Springfield, Massachusetts where the modern game of basketball was invented by physical education instructor, James Naismith. The year was 1891, the same year William Horner began making his wood flooring
In the late 19th and early 20th century, wood flooring was used in homes, schools, offices, and factories. It was in a school in Springfield, Massachusetts where the modern game of basketball was invented by physical education instructor, James Naismith. The year was 1891, the same year William Horner began making his wood flooring and founded Horner Flooring.
For 135 years, Horner Flooring has been producing flooring for facilities where basketball is played. In the late 1960’s Horner began focusing on wood sports flooring. In the early 1970’s, Horner developed its Pro-King® portable basketball floor which incorporated its propriety and patented panel locking system. Pro-King would quickly become the dominant portable floor in the sports flooring industry. Pro-King® would be used by nearly every NBA team, the Olympics and most special events, like NBA All Star. Because of its rugged design, light weight and consistent play, Pro-King® remains the floor of choice for export and over-seas special events for the NBA and NCAA.
