Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Mia Hamm, many of today's sports image are associated with possibly the greatest footwear and apparel company of all time. Nike has become one of most recognizable companies in the entire world in a period of only 25 years. Nike got its start in 1962 as Blue Ribbon Sports, when Phil Knight started selling shoes out of the trunk of his car. Knight was an avid runner, and thought there was a market for athletic shoes designed by athletes for athletes. He was right.
             In the beginning, Knight's company was a working class organization. Knight would sell shoes at local track meets out of his car. His working class strategy was born of low capital and necessity, but became one of the strengths of the company. Blue Ribbon shoes developed a reputation of authenticity and high quality somewhat due to this working class strategy. Still, the company was not an instant success. It would have been easy for Knight to give up early. In 1964, Bill Bowerman, Knight's track coach, joined the company, and in 1965, Jeff Johnson was hired as the first employee. Still, the company only made $20,000.00 in sales and a small amount of $3,240.00 in profit. Blue Ribbon opened its first retail outlet in 1966. In 1969, Blue Ribbon posted sales of $300,000.00, and Knight finally quit his job as Assistant Professor of Business Administration at Portland State University, to concentrate full time on the growing enterprise. His seven years of devotion to Blue Ribbon Sports, while simultaneously maintaining a full time job to pay the bills, was finally starting to show signs of success.
             In 1973, the new Nike, Incorporated (renamed after a Greek goddess and chosen for
             simplicity) had a first of a different kind when they signed Steve Prefontaine to endorse the Nike brand running shoes. Prefontaine was Nike's first endorsed athlete, and proved
             to be a vision of things to come. He was not just a great athlet...