In holes who stole the tennis shoes?

In "Holes" by Louis Sachar, the character who steals the tennis shoes is actually a famous athlete, Clyde "Sweet Feet" Livingston. The shoes were intended for a charity auction, but they were stolen by a young boy named Stanley Yelnats, who unwittingly took them while they were falling from a bridge. This incident sets off a chain of events that leads to Stanley's wrongful conviction and subsequent arrival at Camp Green Lake.