One of the state's greatest creative visionaries in sport, or otherwise, Tinker Hatfield (April 30, 1952) channeled his athletic skills into the world of design.
Hatfield attended Central Linn High School where he earned distinction as an accomplished basketball player and an All-American Track & Field star in hurdles and pole vault. He was an All-State running back and Sunkist All American in football. In 1970, Tinker was named State of Oregon’s top individual high school athlete.
Tinker studied architecture at the University of Oregon while being coached by the legendary Bill Bowerman, co-founder of Nike. He held the UO record in the pole vault and placed sixth in the 1976 Olympic trials. After graduation, Tinker practiced architecture in Eugene until 1981 when he joined up with Nike to design offices, apparel showrooms and Nike retail outlets.
In late 1985, Tinker began designing Nike products, becoming Creative Director of product design in 1989. Tinker was named Vice President of Nike Design in 1993. In addition to helping design the first ever cross training shoe (the Air Trainer) Tinker has earned global recognition for imagination and innovation in his collaborations with Michael Jordan for the Air Jordan line.
In 1998, Fortune Magazine named Tinker one of the 100 Most Influential Designers of the century. Some of Tinker’s design work for the Air Jordan is included in the Smithsonian Museum for design. More recently he has been the subject of sneaker collector documentaries and cover stories in several magazines such as Sole Collector.
Tinker has created specialized Nike athletic products for champion athletes including LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Roger Federer, Laird Hamilton, Gabrielle Reece, and numerous track and field athletes.
Tinker was primarily responsible for the re-branding of University of Oregon in the early 21st century including conceptualizing the O, redesigning uniforms, changing colors and contributing architectural artwork such as designing the U of O video replay board in Autzen Stadium, the first basketball floor at Matthew Knight Arena and design elements of the re-built Hayward Field. He did not approve of the final design of the new track stadium.