Bill Bowerman Research Paper

There are few things in this world that can be said to have came from a waffle iron and a dream. Interestingly enough, those two ingredients were the catalyst in the success of one of the world’s largest companies. Bill Bowerman, the founder of Nike, changed society in the most spectacular way with his innovative idea to combine those two such things. In 1964, Bowerman, who was then a veteran track and field coach, and his lifelong friend Phil Knight cofounded what was known at the time as Blue Ribbon Sports. This company was formed on the premise that the running shoes of the era were too bulky and prevented runners from reaching their full potential. The men found a correlation that had yet to be seen before. That is, the lighter the shoe, the faster the runner. Although Bowerman spent long and difficult hours attempting revolutionize running, his first major breakthrough did not come until almost a year after the conception of Blue Ribbon Sports, in the spring of 1965 when he was coaching the University of Oregon's track team. When star runner and future Olympian, Kenny Moore, broke his ankle at a meet, Bowerman took apart Moore’s shoes to determine the problem. After working

He understood that no matter how good of a product that they were producing, if people did not try it out then sales would never occur. In the company’s early years, Knight spent every moment developing relationships with his fellow runners and peddling his partner’s game-changing inventions. He made it no secret that, while other, and at the time larger, brands focused on flimsy fashion-forward designs, he only brought forward shoes that would actually improve performance. These bold statements led to star athletes such as Steve Prefontaine and Alberto Salazar to validate their unique product, leading to Nike’s success long term celebrity endorsements, such as those with Michael Jordan and Charles