Bill Bowerman

William Jay Bowerman (February 19, 1911 – December 24, 1999) was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 22 NCAA champions and 16 sub-4 minute milers.

Bill Bowerman
Born
William Jay Bowerman

(1911-02-19)February 19, 1911
Portland, Oregon, U.S.
DiedDecember 24, 1999(1999-12-24) (aged 88)
Alma materUniversity of Oregon
Occupation(s)Coach
Co-founder of Nike, Inc.
Spouse
Barbara Young Bowerman
(m. 1936)
ChildrenJon Bowerman
William J. "Jay" Bowerman, Jr.
Thomas Bowerman
ParentJay Bowerman
Military career
Allegiance United States
Service/branch U.S. Army
Years of service1942–1945
RankMajor
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsSilver Star
Bronze Star (4)
Websitehttps://www.nike.com/

Bowerman disliked being called a coach, and during his 24 years at the University of Oregon, the Ducks track and field team had a winning season every year but one, attained 4 NCAA titles, and finished in the top 10 in the nation sixteen times. As co-founder of Nike, he invented some of their top brands, including the Cortez and Waffle Racer, and assisted in the company moving from being a distributor of other shoe brands to one creating their own shoes in house.

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