Summary

In early 1964, the shoe samples have finally arrived at Knight’s house in Oregon. Knight are stunned by how nice they look, and sends two pairs to his old track coach, Bill Bowerman.

Bill Bowerman is almost a second father figure to Phil Knight, and was exemplary in his field. He was somewhat of a shoe connoisseur, constantly experimenting and fidgeting with shoes so that runners could have the best tools to push themselves and excel. In response to Knight’s new shoes, the Tigers, Bowerman approves. In fact, beyond that, Bowerman actually asks to be a partner in the fictitious company, Blue Ribbon.

After splitting the company 51-49, with Knight in a position of slight majority control, they order $1000 worth of shoes. They also become an official executive distributor for the Japanese company Onitsuka, quickly selling out of their shoes and ordering...