Phil Knight (born Feb. 24, 1938) graduated from the University of Oregon with a personal best in the mile run of 4 minutes 10 seconds. He was one of the first athletes to compete in homemade shoes created by coach Bill Bowerman. While studying for his MBA from Stanford University, Knight wrote a marketing paper on the potential of manufacturing athletic shoes in Asia. While visiting Japan, he discovered Onitsuka Tiger, a company that made inexpensive, high-quality running shoes. Knight decided to put his money where his pen was and with a $500 investment matched by partner, former coach Bowerman, Knight began Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964.
Their new company imported Tigers, with Bowerman designing and Knight selling shoes out of the back of his car at high school track meets. Knight continued to work as a CPA, becoming an Assistant Professor of Business Administration at Portland State University. In 1969, Knight devoted himself full-time to Blue Ribbon Sports, becoming chairman and CEO of the fledgling company.
Knight and Bowerman developed their own brand name, Nike, after the winged goddess of victory. Knight paid an advertising student in Portland State $34 to design the logo. It was now up to the research and development department to devise a product upon which to place that logo. The man who Knight called “part genius, part madman and the best coach I ever had” did not disappoint. Bill Bowerman experienced his now-famous epiphany after looking at his wife’s waffle iron.
In 1972, the waffle-soled running shoe was born and it was just the first step in a race that Nike would win to become the world’s leading designer and marketer of athletic footwear, apparel, and equipment. Knight inspired many innovations in the business of sports including futures-based ordering, substantial investment in product research and development, and styling ties between product and athlete. Nike went from sales of less than $3 million in 1972 to sales of almost $270 million in 1980 in running, basketball, and tennis shoes. Sales topped $1 billion in 1986.
Knight then took Nike to the next level with some of the most creative and memorable marketing and advertising the business world has ever seen. Utilizing the talents of Portland ad agency Wieden and Kennedy, Nike made popular icons of athletes such as Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson, and Andre Agassi; and slogans such as “Just Do It” became part of everyday conversation. These tactics, along with continued innovative product designs, helped Nike to record profits in the 1990’s reaching nearly $9 billion in revenue in 1999.
Knight retired from Nike in 2016 after 52 years with the company he founded. He is still an advisor to the board of directors. Philanthropy has been a tradition for Phil. He has made many donations to a variety of academic, medical and sports organizations, including his alma maters, the University of Oregon and Stanford University.