From an Oregon waffle iron to global icon: How Nike changed the game

Bill Bowerman and his waffle irons in 1981.

In 1970, inspiration struck Bowerman at the breakfast table. Nike's Waffle Trainer debuted at the 1972 U.S. Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, Oregon. The footprint the shoes left led them to be called the “Moon Shoe.”

Lauren Goss, athletics archivist for the University of Oregon’s Knight Library, said Nike’s origin story is one of two Oregonians whose lives intersected at the university in what she said could be called a moment of serendipity.

Knight found common ground in assessing sports equipment, particularly shoes, and considering how those tools could improve performance, she said. This interest built upon the University of Oregon’s existing legacy at the time as a school driving innovation, particularly around athletics.

“I think sports, especially at the collegiate level, it’s hugely impactful for institutional identity and for building legacy and tradition. But then I also think about all of the really interesting faculty research that comes out around sports and human performance,” Goss said. “When we formed our School of Physical Education in 1920, that was the first school of physical education in the United States.”

When Nike was in its infancy, the United States was engaged in the space race and landed on the moon, Goss said. These events parallel as examples of what asking tough questions, trying new things and striving for results can do, she said.

The University of Oregon’s Hayward Hall museum exhibit on Nike touts the brand’s Moon Shoes as, “One big step for Bill Bowerman, and giant leap for mankind,” that “helped launch Nike into orbit.”

'Nike was a part of raising me': Jordan Geller’s rollercoaster relationship with Nike

Coach Bill Bowerman watches track field athletes near McArthur Court in the 1950s.

University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman, standing, center, and seven runners from the track team including Phil Knight, standing second from left, in the 1950s.

A competition running shoe made by Bill Bowerman in the 1960s on a scale showing it weighing in at 107 grams.

Then-University of Oregon head track and field coach Bill Bowerman, left, talks to an unknown athlete during practice at Hayward Field in the late '60s.

Bill Bowerman leads a group on a run in the Eugene south hills in the 1970s.

Bill Bowerman acknowledges the crowd during the 1980 Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.

Bill Bowerman and some of the waffle irons he used to make shoe treads.

A large portrait of Bill Bowerman rests in a basement of the Miner Building in 2015. The current owners say Nike still pays rent for a room in the basement where it used to press shoes.

Bill Bowerman on his ranch in Eastern Oregon in the 1970s.

A larger-than-life bronze of Steve Prefontaine overlooks Lake Nike in the Prefontaine Hall on the Nike Campus in Beaverton in 2018.

A display of Steve Prefontaine memorabilia from his days as a runner at Marshfield High School in Coos Bay on display in the Prefontaine Hall on the Nike Campus in Beaverton in 2018.

A display of Steve Prefontaine memorabilia from his days as a runner at Oregon on display in the Prefontaine Hall on the Nike Campus in Beaverton in 2018.

A display of Steve Prefontaine memorabilia from the early days of Blue Ribbon/Nike coolaboration on display in the Prefontaine Hall on the Nike Campus in Beaverton in 2018.

Phil Knight looks around the newly expanded Autzen Stadium during a visit to the last scrimmage before the 2002 season.

Nike founder Phil Knight talks about his son Matthew Knight and the building of the basketball arena named in his memory on opening night for the Matthew Knight Arena Jan. 13, 2011.

The Pit Crew wishes Phil Knight a happy birthday in 2014.

A copy of Bill Bowerman's practice notes for Bill Dellinger from 1956.

The artwork on the seating area of the new Hayward Field track and field venue, seen during construction in 2020, found inspiration in the practice notes that former Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman kept on his runners.

The entry to Hayward Hall features a quote by Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman on a wall made from bleacher boards from the old Hayward Field in 2021.

Phil Knight watches the USA Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene from a suite overlooking the finish line Friday, June 24, 2022.

Fans fill the stands for the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, Friday, July 22, 2022.

Phil Knight on the Nike Campus in Beaverton with a room sized image of Bill Bowerman in 2018.

Nike shoe collector Jordan Geller holds a custom pair of running shoes made by Bill Bowerman in 1968 for Oregon steeplechaser Bill Norris.

Artifacts collected by Nike shoe collector Jordan Geller include a custom pair of running shoes made by Bill Bowerman in 1968 for Oregon steeplechaser Bill Norris join other memorabilia at Hayward Hall in Eugene.

The Bill Bowerman Trophy on display at Hayward Hall in Eugene March 7, 2026.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

Coach Bill Bowerman watches track field athletes near McArthur Court in the 1950s.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

Coach Bill Bowerman watches track field athletes near McArthur Court in the 1950s.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman, standing, center, and seven runners from the track team including Phil Knight, standing second from left, in the 1950s.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

A competition running shoe made by Bill Bowerman in the 1960s on a scale showing it weighing in at 107 grams.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

Then-University of Oregon head track and field coach Bill Bowerman, left, talks to an unknown athlete during practice at Hayward Field in the late '60s.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

Bill Bowerman leads a group on a run in the Eugene south hills in the 1970s.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

Bill Bowerman acknowledges the crowd during the 1980 Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

Bill Bowerman and some of the waffle irons he used to make shoe treads.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

A large portrait of Bill Bowerman rests in a basement of the Miner Building in 2015. The current owners say Nike still pays rent for a room in the basement where it used to press shoes.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

Bill Bowerman on his ranch in Eastern Oregon in the 1970s.

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From an Oregon waffle iron to global icon: How Nike changed the game

A larger-than-life bronze of Steve Prefontaine overlooks Lake Nike in the Prefontaine Hall on the Nike Campus in Beaverton in 2018.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

A display of Steve Prefontaine memorabilia from his days as a runner at Marshfield High School in Coos Bay on display in the Prefontaine Hall on the Nike Campus in Beaverton in 2018.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

A display of Steve Prefontaine memorabilia from his days as a runner at Oregon on display in the Prefontaine Hall on the Nike Campus in Beaverton in 2018.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

A display of Steve Prefontaine memorabilia from the early days of Blue Ribbon/Nike coolaboration on display in the Prefontaine Hall on the Nike Campus in Beaverton in 2018.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

Phil Knight looks around the newly expanded Autzen Stadium during a visit to the last scrimmage before the 2002 season.

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From an Oregon waffle iron to global icon: How Nike changed the game

Nike founder Phil Knight talks about his son Matthew Knight and the building of the basketball arena named in his memory on opening night for the Matthew Knight Arena Jan. 13, 2011.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

The Pit Crew wishes Phil Knight a happy birthday in 2014.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

A copy of Bill Bowerman's practice notes for Bill Dellinger from 1956.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

The artwork on the seating area of the new Hayward Field track and field venue, seen during construction in 2020, found inspiration in the practice notes that former Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman kept on his runners.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

The entry to Hayward Hall features a quote by Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman on a wall made from bleacher boards from the old Hayward Field in 2021.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

Phil Knight watches the USA Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene from a suite overlooking the finish line Friday, June 24, 2022.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

Fans fill the stands for the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, Friday, July 22, 2022.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

Phil Knight on the Nike Campus in Beaverton with a room sized image of Bill Bowerman in 2018.

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From an Oregon waffle iron to global icon: How Nike changed the game

Nike shoe collector Jordan Geller holds a custom pair of running shoes made by Bill Bowerman in 1968 for Oregon steeplechaser Bill Norris.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

Artifacts collected by Nike shoe collector Jordan Geller include a custom pair of running shoes made by Bill Bowerman in 1968 for Oregon steeplechaser Bill Norris join other memorabilia at Hayward Hall in Eugene.

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Photos tell the story of Nike, an iconic American brand

The Bill Bowerman Trophy on display at Hayward Hall in Eugene March 7, 2026.

Few people could argue that they’re bigger fans of the Nike brand than Jordan Geller.

Geller's father was a 10-time marathoner who ran in only Nikes. Sneaker shopping with his dad is what made him “fall in love,” with the brand. Even though his parents wouldn’t spend the money on pricey shoes for a growing kid, he pined over Air Jordans until he could afford to buy his own in college.

His passion for shoes helped him develop more self-confidence, as well as make a name for himself. His childhood dreams of buying Nike shoes blossomed into a business and cemented his place in the realm of sneakerheads.

“I like to think that Nike was a part of raising me,” Geller said. “Of course, my parents raised me, but I was raised during the Nike era. I remember all the commercials and all the famous people that wore Nikes and I’ve always loved the brand and the shoes. That’s really my connection with the company.”

He began to shop for shoes at swap meets while he was in law school. When he realized he could buy a $20 pair of Nikes at a swap meet, then turn around and sell them online for a considerable profit, Geller made a business out of it.

He frequented Nike outlet stores and collected about 15,000 shoe pairs, equating to roughly $1 million in inventory. He said he “loved everything about running my resale business because I loved the shoes,” and the connections he made with other Nike fans. Instead of going to bars with his friends, he spent his time at Nike outlet stores amassing more inventory.

In 2009, the road for his business grew rocky. Multiple letters from Nike arrived at his home and business warehouse, all saying the same, frightening thing: Geller was banned from shopping at Nike stores.

Nike shoe collector Jordan Geller holds a custom pair of running shoes made by Bill Bowerman in 1968 for Oregon steeplechaser Bill Norris.

“It essentially said, ‘Thank you for your business all of these years. We have decided that we will no longer sell product to you or accept returns from you. … Basically, ‘You’re not welcome here,’” Geller said. “I was devastated when I got those letters. They pulled the plug on my business, essentially, and my business brought me so much joy.”

He tried to shift course, sourcing shoes from other retailers, but with sales steady and no new inventory, the shelves of his warehouse began to look sparse. His mind wandered for solutions.

“I’m in my warehouse and I’m looking at all these shelves and racks that I had that were just full of shoes,” Geller said. “Before Nike banned me, the shelves were dense, totally packed with shoeboxes and you couldn’t even see through the shelves. It was like a sea of shoes.”

Then, inspiration struck.

“I was like, ‘Oh my god,” Geller said. “‘The world needs a Nike museum.’”

So Geller sought out the most historic, quintessential and offbeat shoes he could get his hands on, partnered them with parallel artifacts and information, and created the world’s first sneaker museum. Geller said the resulting Shoezeum is the “most comprehensive collection of Nikes in the world,” and at its peak, had 2,504 pairs of shoes.

He said the Shoezeum told the story of Nike kicks in a move he called “the best pivot that I ever made.”

“When Nike banned me, I think a normal person probably would have just closed up shop, stopped being in business, sold off the inventory and kept the money. I didn’t do that,” Geller said. “I did something different and something unique and something fun and it did amazing things for me.”

Despite the ban, Geller said, Nike executives made a trip to check out the Shoezeum. Geller got the stamp of approval from corporate, his ban was lifted and he felt reassured that he was meant to be collecting and sharing the stories of Nike’s shoes all those years. He said he “always felt like this was more than my passion, but it was truly my calling.”

Geller amassed four Guinness World Records. In 2013, his was certified as the world’s largest sneaker collection at 2,388 pairs. In 2019, he sold the most expensive pair of sneakers at the time — a pair of Nike Moon shoes that went for $437,500. In 2020, he beat his own record by selling a pair of Jordans for $560,000, and in 2022, he sold a single Jordan sneaker for $50,000 — the most expensive single shoe ever sold.

Geller said Bowerman’s inventive approach to optimizing sporting gear solidified the coach’s legacy as “a genius and a mad scientist.”

How Nike defines the industry

On top of innovating for track and field athletes, Bowerman’s work led to technological adaptations in sporting gear that can be seen across disciplines. Hayward Hall highlights Bowerman’s early iterations of what would become Nike’s Dri-fit technology and an electrolyte drink mix, a precursor of products like Gatorade.

Susan Sokolowski, former innovation director of apparel for Nike and founder, director and associate professor of the University of Oregon’s Sports Product Design Program, said working at Nike was a “childhood dream” of hers since she was about 8 years old. She was a full-time employee at Nike from 1998 to 2016.

A larger-than-life bronze of Steve Prefontaine overlooks Lake Nike in the Prefontaine Hall on the Nike Campus in Beaverton in 2018.

She said the brand and how it empowered athletes to perform their best inspired her.

“Everything about the company just really inspired my heart to want to work there,” Sokolowski said. “... It was a great environment to learn and also grow with the company. When I started, I think there were maybe like 4,000 people that were on the campus at the time. Then, when I left, there were about 12,000. So, just the scale of it, to be able to grow up in that and see the company grow, it was really cool.”

She said her role in innovation meant leading teams from initial research through the development process to ideate, build prototypes, validate products and commercialize new technologies. She worked on elements designed for elite Olympic participants and items for everyday athletes, like sports bras.

Sokolowski worked on the first women’s team at Nike. There, she helped change the industry’s approach to women’s sporting gear from “shrink and pinking” items modeled for men to “build for her” by creating original products from the ground up with a focus on the needs of female athletes.

“I think in our industry, it’s kind of expected that we are inventing new technologies to enable athletes to perform better, and I really think Nike kind of birthed that,” Sokolowski said. “If you look at the history of athletic companies—Nike, Reebok, Adidas — they all kind of came up in a similar era in the late '80s, early '90s, about creating these new technologies for athletes, and I think it just became expected that these companies were going to do it.”

Sokolowski said Nike is known for developing technologies such as the Nike Air cushioning system and the Nike Dri-fit moisture-wicking fabric. She said before Nike Air was developed, shoe companies relied on foam sheets for cushioning.

“With the advent of Air, it created this other sort of unit of material that could be caught in combination with foam to create a cushioning system,” Sokolowski said. “I think that idea of creating visible cushioning technologies, creating different types of materials that you can put underfoot, really led to other companies doing something similar. … Nike has really inspired many companies to do things in that cushioning space and then the same thing with material technologies. Everyone has their version of Nike Dri-fit.”

Sokolowski said Nike's marketing tells epic performance stories, inspiring consumers to try new challenges, while staying true to the voices of athletes. She said these stories reach the hearts of everyday people and help explain why Nike fans are such die-hard lovers of the brand.

“I think it really comes down to the surprise and delight of the product and who's wearing it,” Sokolowski said. “I think people are very inspired by the athletes that wear a Nike product and even celebrities.”

Nike’s track record mired by labor, equity concerns

Nike’s domination of the sports apparel industry comes with controversy, and the company has come into the crosshairs of numerous lawsuits over the years.

In 2018, workers accused the company of discrimination, saying it paid and promoted women less than male counterparts and did not seriously address sexual harassment complaints. The lawsuit is still playing out in court.

Nike is also under investigation for the alleged discrimination of white workers related to claims about the company’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program.

Nike said it "is committed to fair and lawful employment practices and follows all applicable laws, including those that prohibit discrimination," and it believes its programs and practices are consistent with those obligations.

Pressure against Nike has mounted in the company’s home state. In June 2025, Indonesian garment workers visited the Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, Nike stores and Hayward Field to raise awareness of allegations of labor violations, like wage theft and discrimination. The workers called for Nike to collectively bargain with workers, though the workers who visited Hayward Field are not employed by Nike, but work at factories in Nike’s supply chain.

Nike said it is committed to building a responsible and resilient supply chain. It said this is done by grounding strategy and solution in best practices for managing human rights risks defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organization's Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

Nike said requirements are shared with its suppliers in the company's Code of Conduct and Code Leadership Standards (CLS.)

"Upholding a world-class supply chain requires continuous improvement, and we design tailored programs to help suppliers align with our labor, health, safety and environmental standards," Nike said. "We also go beyond the foundational expectations of the Code and CLS by creating programs that help strategic suppliers build capabilities that lead to greater workforce resilience. We focus on three main areas: health and safety, gender equity and worker voice."

How Phil Knight's wealth benefits Oregon

Nike founder Phil Knight talks about his son Matthew Knight and the building of the basketball arena named in his memory on opening night for the Matthew Knight Arena Jan. 13, 2011.

Nike continues to be a behemoth in athletic apparel. According to Forbes’ 2026 World’s Billionaires List, Phil Knight and his family rank No. 68 out of 200 billionaires. Knight has a net worth of $31.1 billion after spending 52 years with Nike and retiring as chairman in 2016.

Testaments to Knight’s wealth are prominent across Eugene, where $1 billion in donations to the University of Oregon have funded the construction of the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact. The rebuild of Hayward Field was funded by the Knights and more than 50 other private donors. UO’s library, formerly known as the Main Library, was renamed to the Knight Library in 1988 to honor Knight’s family.

UO’s William W. Knight Law Center is named after Knight’s father and the university’s School of Law benefited from a $10 million gift from Knight that supported the construction of a new building. The John E. Jaqua Academic Center for Student Athletes cost $41.7 million to build and was paid for by Knight, according to reporting from The Oregonian. Knight’s backing of his alma mater is so prominent that he’s been nicknamed “Uncle Phil.”

Building connections with consumers

Nike said ultimately its brand resonates with consumers because of how it connects with them.

"For many, Nike represents the belief that progress, whether physical, personal, or societal, is earned through effort. It speaks to moments of challenge and transformation, when action matters more than certainty," Nike said. "By consistently championing human potential and courage, Nike has become more than a brand people wear but one they identify with. In this way, Nike endures not just because of what we make, but because of what we stand for, which reflects the American spirit itself: imperfect, ambitious, and always striving forward."

How the list was chosen

The Iconic Brands 50 identifies American companies that most profoundly shaped the nation’s identity, economy and culture. Selection emphasized historical significance, industry-building innovation, measurable economic influence and lasting cultural impact. Brands were chosen for transforming daily life or becoming enduring symbols of American values. Long-term relevance and sustained national influence carried greater weight than short-term financial performance or recent popularity.

Hannarose McGuinness is The Register-Guard’s growth and development reporter. You can reach her at hmcguinness@registerguard.com.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: From Eugene to everywhere: How Nike’s ‘Just Do It’ reshaped sports