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                                                                       EXHIBIT 5


                                    December 9, 1998



    Converse Inc.
    One Fordham Road
    North Reading, Massachusetts 01864

     RE: CONVERSE INC. REGISTRATION STATEMENT ON FORM S-3

    Ladies and Gentlemen:

       I am employed as General Counsel of Converse Inc., a Delaware corporation
    ("Converse" or the "Company"), and as such I, and attorneys working for me,
    have acted on behalf of Converse as counsel in connection with the
    preparation of the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (the "Registration
    Statement"), which Converse proposes to file with the Securities and
    Exchange Commission.  The Registration Statement relates to the registration
    under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), of
    360,000 shares of the Company's common stock, without par value (the
    "Shares") issuable upon exercise of warrants issued by the Company to
    certain investors in September 1998 (the "Warrants").

       This opinion is rendered in accordance with the requirements of Item
    601(b) (5) of Regulation S-K of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

       I, or such attorneys working for me, have examined or considered such
    matters of law and fact and such corporate records, certificates and other
    documents as I, or they, have deemed necessary.  In the course of such
    examination, I, and such attorneys working for me, have assumed the
    genuineness of all signatures, the authenticity of all documents submitted
    as originals and the conformity to the originals of all documents submitted
    as certified, photostatic or conformed copies.  I have relied, as to certain
    legal matters, on the advice of such attorneys working for me who are more
    familiar with such matters.

       Based on and subject to the foregoing and the qualifications set forth
    below, I am of the opinion that the Shares issuable upon exercise of the
    Warrants have been duly authorized and reserved for issuance, and when
    issued upon exercise of the Warrants in accordance with the terms of the
    Warrants, will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

       I am admitted to the Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and I
    express no opinion as to the laws of any other jurisdiction other than the
    Delaware General Corporation Law.  In that connection, you should be aware
    that I am not admitted to the Bar of the State of Delaware and am not an
    expert in the law of such jurisdiction.  Accordingly, such opinions
    concerning the Delaware General Corporation Law are based upon my review of
    the Delaware General Corporation Law and my reasonable (although not
    necessarily complete) familiarity with the Delaware General Corporation Law
    as a result of my prior involvement in transactions involving such Law.

       I hereby consent to the filing of this opinion with the Securities and
    Exchange Commission as an Exhibit to the Registration Statement on Form S-3
    being filed by the Company.  In giving such consent, I do not thereby admit
    that I am acting within the category of persons whose consent is required
    under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the regulations of the Securities
    and Exchange Commission thereunder.

                                    Very truly yours,


                                    /s/  Jack A. Green
                                    ----------------------------
                                    Jack A. Green
                                    General Counsel