... origin of the swoosh dates back as far as 1971. Phil Knight was supplementing his modest income from Blue Ribbon Sports Inc. by teaching an accountant class at Portland State University. There he met Carolyn Davidson, a graphic design student, who was working on a multi-perspective drawing assignment in the hallway. He offered her a couple of bucks per hour if ... the elevation of athletic shoe manufacture to both a science and a fashion was due largely due to Phil Knight and Steve Bowerman of Oregon. In 1958, Phil Knight, a business major a the University of Oregon, and a miler on the t...

• Word Count: 3844
• Approx Pages: 15
• Grade Level: High School

... Nike has maintained its place as the leader in athletic shoes and apparel since its start in the 1960's. In 1961 Phil Knight, a graduate of the University of Oregon and a former competitive runner, made a deal with a Japanese shoe company called Tiger to import their shoes to the United States. When asked ... He took the result and glued it to the bottom of some shoes. He then gave new product to a few of his runners at the university to try out. They loved the shoes. The good traction paired with the extra cushion was a success. Phil took to the road to sell their ... Blue Ribbon Sport...

• Word Count: 2704
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: High School

... produce a lighter track shoe, scientifically calculating that if one ounce could be shaved from the shoe's weight, the runner would be freed of 550 pounds during a mile race. Knight, at Stanford Business School, wrote up an analysis of how profitable it would be to import cheap but good Japanese running shoes, then sell them in the United States. Later he went ... during 1971 in which he dreamed of Nike, the Greek winged goddess who symbolized victory. Without any better idea, Knight decided to try Johnson's suggestion. The next year. a Portland State University design student, Carolyn ...

• Word Count: 1589
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate