The story of Nike sportshoes is inextricably linked to the talent and initiative of two sportsmen, Bill Bowerman, a track and field coach at the University of Oregon, and Phil Knight, a middle-distance runner from Portland.

Basically, both Knight and Bowerman share a passion for improving athlete's performances. Eventually, both became partners in the business of providing design ideas to Tiger, a Japanese-based sportshoe firm. This is how Blue Ribbon sports was born. In 1965, Jeff Johnson became the first employee of the company and began the design of brochures and marketing materials for the company.

Finally, Bowerman and Knight moved on from being mere footwear distributors to take charge of their own brand and this is how they ended up with the famous swoosh logo, created by a graphic design student at the University of Oregon, Carolyn Davidson.