A legendary Oregon track coach who cofounded the shoe company in 1964; 14 years later, it became . Sick of importing expensive European running shoes in the fifties, Bowerman designed and built his own pair for his athlete Phil Knight. “They were a white, rubber-coated fabric, the kind you’d use for a tablecloth you could sponge off,” Bowerman recalled in Kenny Moore’s biography, . Famously, in 1971 Bowerman invented the modern running-shoe tread by molding a rubber sole using his wife’s waffle iron. (See Waffle.) The first Blue Ribbon shoe to become popular was the , a black and white runner that today seems surprisingly fashionable. Bowerman died in 1999 at 88.
(Photo: Tim Tomkinson)
New perk: Easily find new routes and hidden gems, upcoming running events, and more near you. Your weekly Local Running Newsletter has everything you need to lace up! .
From ϳԹ Magazine, August 2015
Lead Photo: Tim Tomkinson