La-Z-Boy Advertisement Featuring Joe Namath, circa 1972

In 1927, cousins Edward Knabusch and Edwin Shoemaker, established what would later become La-Z-Boy, Inc. in Monroe, Michigan. They were a perfect pair: Shoemaker was fascinated with technology and Knabusch was a master marketer. Celebrity endorsements began with Bing and Kathryn Crosby in the 1960s. By the 1970s, La-Z-Boy employed multiple celebrities, including Joe Namath -- whose endorsement helped popularize the phrase "armchair quarterback."