1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:15,600 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:19,280 Speaker 1: a show for those interested in the big and small 4 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:24,520 Speaker 1: moments of history. I'm Gabe Louzier, and today we're looking 5 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: at the story behind one of the world's most recognizable 6 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:31,200 Speaker 1: brands and how it was almost known by a very 7 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:43,400 Speaker 1: different name. The day was May seventy one, with its 8 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:46,839 Speaker 1: first shipment of shoes set to go out the next day, 9 00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:53,159 Speaker 1: the Blue Ribbon Sports Company changed its name to Nike Incorporated. Today, 10 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: the Oregon based company is the largest seller of athletic 11 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:01,800 Speaker 1: footwear and apparel in the world, but in one it 12 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 1: was a fledgling business with less than fifty employees total. 13 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:10,320 Speaker 1: After six years of selling running shoes imported from Japan, 14 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: Blue Ribbon Sports was finally ready to produce and distribute 15 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 1: its own shoes. By May, the first batch was almost 16 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:22,320 Speaker 1: ready to go. The only thing left to do was 17 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:25,880 Speaker 1: to print and assemble the shoe boxes. But to do that, 18 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: the factory in New Mexico needed to know the new 19 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:33,120 Speaker 1: name of the company. Blue Ribbon Sports was tied up 20 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:36,120 Speaker 1: in prior contracts, so the staff had to come up 21 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:39,200 Speaker 1: with something else, and they didn't have much time left 22 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:42,760 Speaker 1: to do it. Printing could only be delayed until nine 23 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:45,759 Speaker 1: am that morning if they wanted to hit their deadline. 24 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 1: So with the clock ticking and their new venture on 25 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 1: the line, the company's employees launched a desperate bid to 26 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:57,720 Speaker 1: brainstorm the perfect brand name. The story of Nike began 27 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:00,880 Speaker 1: in the late nineteen fifties with the meting of two men, 28 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 1: Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman. Night was a business student 29 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:08,799 Speaker 1: at the University of Oregon and a middle distance runner 30 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:13,240 Speaker 1: on the school's renowned track team. His coach was Bill Bowerman, 31 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 1: a man so dedicated to his sport that he took 32 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:19,359 Speaker 1: lessons from a local cobbler just to learn how to 33 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:23,520 Speaker 1: make his own running shoes. Coach Bowerman wasn't happy with 34 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:27,360 Speaker 1: the caliber of track shoes available at the time. Recreational 35 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:30,600 Speaker 1: running and jogging weren't as popular as they are today, 36 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:33,880 Speaker 1: so there weren't that many options on the market. The 37 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: few brands available were uncomfortable, clumsy, and didn't offer the 38 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 1: support that runners needed. After learning the trade himself, Bowerman 39 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:47,400 Speaker 1: continuously tinkered with his own designs, experimenting with every form 40 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:51,960 Speaker 1: of material you could think of, velvet, deer hide, fish skin, 41 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:56,520 Speaker 1: and even leather made from kangaroos. The results of these 42 00:02:56,560 --> 00:03:00,920 Speaker 1: experiments were routinely tested by Phil Knight, a willing guinea 43 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:04,519 Speaker 1: pig and so so athlete who shared his coach's disdain 44 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: for the sorry state of track shoes. Night later recalled 45 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:13,239 Speaker 1: this early partnership, saying, quote, the American shoes were offshoots 46 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: of tire companies. Shoes cost five dollars and you would 47 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: come back from a five mile run with your feet bleeding. 48 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:23,680 Speaker 1: Then the German companies came in with thirty dollar shoes, 49 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 1: which were more comfortable, but Bowerman still wasn't satisfied. He 50 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 1: believed that shaving an ounce off a pair of shoes 51 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:33,679 Speaker 1: for a guy running a mile could make a big difference. 52 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: So Bowerman began making shoes himself, and since I wasn't 53 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: the best guy on the team, I was the logical 54 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 1: one to test the shoes. Phil Knight left the University 55 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:48,200 Speaker 1: of Oregon in nineteen fifty nine with a bachelor's in 56 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:52,040 Speaker 1: business administration. He then enrolled in the Graduate School of 57 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 1: Business at Stanford, where he was challenged to come up 58 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: with a new small business idea and to create a 59 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 1: marketing plan. The title of his paper was can Japanese 60 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 1: sports shoes due to Germans sports shoes what Japanese cameras 61 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:11,640 Speaker 1: did to German cameras. Night theorized that running shoes could 62 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: be produced more cost efficiently in Japan than in Germany. 63 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:17,680 Speaker 1: Has it been the case with cameras and if that 64 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:20,919 Speaker 1: were true, it would enable his company to market the 65 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,520 Speaker 1: lower cost shoes to high school and college athletes who 66 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:28,159 Speaker 1: would finally be able to afford them. After graduating from 67 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:31,720 Speaker 1: Stanford in nine sixty two, Nights spent the better part 68 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:34,839 Speaker 1: of two years traveling Japan and looking for a way 69 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:38,480 Speaker 1: to test his theory. This led him to the Onetsuka 70 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 1: shoe factory in Kobe. The company was known for producing 71 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:47,480 Speaker 1: a high quality Adida's look alike called Tigers. The production 72 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: costs were significantly lower than those produced in Germany, so 73 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:54,640 Speaker 1: Night made a deal with Onetsuka to export the shoes 74 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:58,520 Speaker 1: and begin selling them in the US. However, he didn't 75 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 1: embark on that venture a own. Instead, he brought in 76 00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:05,919 Speaker 1: his old friend, Coach Bowerman as a fifty fifty partner. 77 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:11,320 Speaker 1: On January nineteen sixty four, the duo co founded a 78 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:16,600 Speaker 1: brand new company, Blue Ribbon Sports. Things started small at first, 79 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:19,599 Speaker 1: with Night traveling from one track meet to the next, 80 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 1: selling on Itsuka Tigers out of the trunk of his car. 81 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 1: By nineteen sixty nine, though the country's growing interest and 82 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:30,159 Speaker 1: jogging had pushed Blue Ribbon Sports to over a million 83 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: dollars in sales. They had proven there was demand for affordable, 84 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:38,080 Speaker 1: but still high quality running shoes, but that success led 85 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:42,320 Speaker 1: to other problems. Hoping to capitalize on the established interest, 86 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:46,599 Speaker 1: on Atsuka began courting other US distributors, a move that 87 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:49,680 Speaker 1: threatened to cut Blue Ribbon Sports out of the market. 88 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 1: It helped create Knights, and Bowerman saw the writing on 89 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:56,760 Speaker 1: the wall. They knew that for their company to survive, 90 00:05:57,120 --> 00:05:59,600 Speaker 1: it would have to become more than a middleman for 91 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:03,640 Speaker 1: another company's shoes. With that in mind, they cut ties 92 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 1: with their Japanese partners in and began trying to manufacture 93 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 1: and distribute their own shoes under their own label. To 94 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:16,520 Speaker 1: mark this fresh start, and to avoid further legal complications 95 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:20,080 Speaker 1: with on Atsuka, Night decided to retire the Blue Ribbon 96 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:24,160 Speaker 1: name and create a stronger brand identity for the new shoe. 97 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:28,799 Speaker 1: The logo came before the name compliments of Carolyn Davidson, 98 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:32,720 Speaker 1: a graphic design student at Portland State University, where Knight 99 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:36,640 Speaker 1: used to teach accounting. Davidson whipped up a few potential 100 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 1: designs to show Night, including the now iconic swoosh, a 101 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:46,080 Speaker 1: kind of stylized check mark. Night was reportedly unimpressed, saying 102 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:49,599 Speaker 1: of the design quote, well, I don't love it, but 103 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:53,560 Speaker 1: maybe it will grow on me. It apparently did, as 104 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:56,360 Speaker 1: of course, that's the logo the company wound up using. 105 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 1: And if you're wondering about the going rate for a 106 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:02,520 Speaker 1: timeless low go in nineteen seventy one, that would be 107 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:06,400 Speaker 1: thirty five dollars, a decent deal for Carolyn Davidson at 108 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:08,880 Speaker 1: the time, but not so much in the long run. 109 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:12,560 Speaker 1: In late May of that year, with the shoes nearly 110 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 1: finished and the logo decided on, the last step was 111 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 1: to christen the company and its shoe boxes with a 112 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: catchy new name, Night made a big swing by proposing 113 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:26,760 Speaker 1: the name Dimension six, reportedly because he was a fan 114 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:30,600 Speaker 1: of a nineteen sixties pop group called The Fifth Dimension. 115 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:34,400 Speaker 1: Luckily for Phil, the rest of the team hated that 116 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:37,760 Speaker 1: name and quickly laughed it out of the running. Other 117 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:41,800 Speaker 1: employees suggested animal based names, hoping to capture the same 118 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:46,000 Speaker 1: success as Puma, one of the industry's leading brands, Bengal 119 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: a type of tiger, and Peregrine, a type of falcon. 120 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:53,120 Speaker 1: We're both briefly considered, but neither was popular enough to 121 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: seal the deal. The company wide effort ultimately proved to 122 00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:00,920 Speaker 1: be a bust. The new name was due the following morning, 123 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 1: and there was no clear front runner. That's when longtime 124 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:08,280 Speaker 1: employee Jeff Johnson came to the rescue. At the last 125 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:12,520 Speaker 1: possible minute. That night, according to Johnson, he had a 126 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:17,280 Speaker 1: dream about Nike, the Greek winged goddess of victory. He 127 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:20,520 Speaker 1: woke up convinced that was the perfect name. It even 128 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:23,320 Speaker 1: aligned with an article he had read about how the 129 00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:26,880 Speaker 1: best brand names were two syllable words that feature strong 130 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: sounding letters like X and K. Think Kodak, clorox or 131 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:36,480 Speaker 1: klean X. At seven am on the morning of May thirty, 132 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:41,360 Speaker 1: Johnson called company president Bob Woodell and excitedly pitched him 133 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:45,840 Speaker 1: on the name Nike. Woodell was unconvinced, but agreed to 134 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:49,240 Speaker 1: relay the idea to Phil Knight before the nine am deadline. 135 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:52,600 Speaker 1: In the end, Night wasn't a fan of Nike either, 136 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:55,719 Speaker 1: but just like with the Swoosh logo, he decided to 137 00:08:55,760 --> 00:08:58,800 Speaker 1: give it a shot. With a factory deadline looming, he 138 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:02,160 Speaker 1: told Woodell, quote, I guess we'll go with the Nike 139 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: thing for a while. I don't like any of the names, 140 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:08,760 Speaker 1: but I guess that's the best of the bunch. With 141 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:12,880 Speaker 1: that ringing endorsement, the company had finally found its new name. 142 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:16,880 Speaker 1: The first Nike branded shoe hit store shelves three weeks 143 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:22,240 Speaker 1: later on June eighteenth, nine seventy one. Despite some growing pains, 144 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:25,680 Speaker 1: the new company managed to sell three point two million 145 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:29,079 Speaker 1: dollars worth of shoes in nineteen seventy two, and from 146 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:32,920 Speaker 1: there it's profits doubled for each of the next ten years. 147 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:37,640 Speaker 1: The company's transition from a small time shoe importer to 148 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:41,200 Speaker 1: one of the world's most popular brands had officially begun, 149 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:45,000 Speaker 1: and all because Phil Knight had enough self restraint to 150 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:51,120 Speaker 1: not insist on the name Dimension six. I'm gave Lousier 151 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:54,560 Speaker 1: and hopefully you now know a little more about history 152 00:09:54,679 --> 00:09:59,000 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. If you enjoy today's episode 153 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:01,000 Speaker 1: and you want to keep up with the show, you 154 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:04,520 Speaker 1: can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t 155 00:10:04,679 --> 00:10:08,760 Speaker 1: d i HC Show. You could also rate and review 156 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:11,480 Speaker 1: the show on Apple Podcasts, or you can reach out 157 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:14,840 Speaker 1: directly by writing to This Day at I heart media 158 00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:18,720 Speaker 1: dot com. Thanks as always to Chandler Mays for producing 159 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:21,600 Speaker 1: the show, and thank you for listening. I'll see you 160 00:10:21,640 --> 00:10:25,400 Speaker 1: back here again tomorrow for another day in History class.