Bill Bowerman
Bill Bowerman | |
---|---|
Born | William Jay Bowerman February 19, 1911 Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
Died | December 24, 1999 Fossil, Oregon, U.S. | (aged 88)
Alma mater | University of Oregon |
Occupation(s) | Coach Co-founder of Nike, Inc. |
Spouse |
Barbara Young Bowerman
(m. 1936) |
Children | Jon Bowerman William J. "Jay" Bowerman, Jr. Thomas Bowerman |
Parent | Jay Bowerman |
Military career | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | U.S. Army |
Years of service | 1942–1945 |
Rank | Major |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards | Silver Star Bronze Star (4) |
Website | https://www.nike.com/ |
William Jay Bowerman (February 19, 1911 – December 24, 1999) was an American track and field coach and co-founder of
Bowerman disliked being called a coach,
Early life
Born in Portland, Oregon, Bowerman's father Jay was a former governor;[4] his mother, Elizabeth Hoover Bowerman, had grown up in Fossil. The family returned to Fossil after the parents divorced in 1913. Bowerman had an older brother and sister, Dan and Mary Elizabeth "Beth"; and a twin brother, Thomas, who died in an elevator accident when he was two years old.
Bowerman attended Medford and Seattle schools before returning to Medford for high school.[5] He played in the high school band and for the state-champion football team in his junior and senior years. Bowerman first met Barbara Young, the woman he married, while a high school student in Medford.[6]
In 1929, Bowerman attended the University of Oregon to play football and study journalism. At the suggestion of longtime track coach Bill Hayward, he also joined the track team. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity. After graduating, he taught biology and coached football at Franklin High School in Portland in 1934. In 1935, Bowerman moved back to Medford to teach and coach football during which won a state title in 1940.[6]
Bowerman married Barbara Young on June 22, 1936. Their first son, Jon, was born June 22, 1938. William J. Bowerman, Jr. ("Jay") was born November 17, 1942. Their third son, Tom, was born May 20, 1946.
Military career
Bowerman had been in the
Bowerman's duty entailed organizing the troops' supplies and maintaining the mules used to carry the supplies in the mountains. On December 23, 1944, the division arrived in Naples, Italy and soon moved north to the mountains of northern Italy.[8] During his overseas service, Bowerman was promoted to commander of the 86th Regiment's First Battalion at the rank of Major.[9] Bowerman negotiated a stand-down of German forces near the Brenner Pass in the days before the surrender of the German army in all of Italy.[10] For his service, Bowerman received the Silver Star and four Bronze Stars. He was honorably discharged in October 1945.[11]
Coaching career
After the war, Bowerman returned to his position at Medford High School. The family then moved to Eugene where he became the head track coach at his alma mater, the University of Oregon, on July 1, 1948.
University of Oregon
Bowerman's "Men of Oregon" won 24 NCAA individual titles (with wins in 15 of the 19 events contested) and four NCAA team crowns (1962, 1964, 1965, and 1970), and posted 16 top-10 NCAA finishes in 24 years as head coach. His teams also boasted 33 Olympians, 38 conference champions and 64 All-Americans. At the dual level, the Ducks posted a 114–20 record and went undefeated in 10 seasons. In addition, Bowerman coached the world record setting 4-mile (6.4 km) relay team in 1962. This team consisted of Archie San Romani,
Bowerman disliked being called a coach; he saw himself as more of a teacher. He expected his squad to excel in the classroom, and urged his charges to apply the lessons they learned on the track to everyday life.[13][6]
In 1972, Bowerman stepped back from day-to-day coaching activities to conduct fundraising for renovating the Hayward Field grandstands that would be necessary for the consideration of hosting the U.S. Olympic Trials again in 1976. He also ran unsuccessfully for a House[14] seat in the Oregon Legislature in 1970 as a Republican,[4] losing by only 815 votes out of 61,000 cast.[14]
Bowerman officially retired as head coach on March 23, 1973, and assistant coach Bill Dellinger was immediately promoted.[15][16][17]
United States Olympic Track program
Bowerman created a training program for adjusting athletes for the high altitude that they would experience at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games. This successful program led to his selection as the 1972 Munich Olympic track and field head coaching position, even though American miler favorite Jim Ryun lost to Kenyan Kip Keino, citing altitude as part of the reason for this upset. Bowerman coached members of teams from Norway, Canada, Australia, and the United States.
During the
Running
During a trip to New Zealand in 1962, Bowerman was introduced to the concept of running as a fitness routine, including people of an advanced age, through a running club organized by his friend and coaching colleague Arthur Lydiard. Bowerman brought this concept back to the United States, and began to write articles and books about running. He also created a running program in Eugene that became a national model for fitness programs. A Jogger's Manual, a three-page guide, was published shortly after Bowerman returned from New Zealand. In 1966, along with cardiologist W.E. Harris, Bowerman published a 90-page book titled Jogging. The book sold over a million copies and was credited with igniting the jogging phenomenon in the United States. The new crop of older athletic people contributed to the evolution of the sport of track and field to create a new division for these masters athletes. Due to the popularity of Jogging, Harris and Bowerman published a 127-page book in 1967.
Nike
According to Otis Davis, a student athlete who Bowerman coached at the University of Oregon, who later went on to win two gold medals at the 1960 Summer Olympics, he was one of the guinea pigs for whom Bowerman customized shoes prior to being a cofounder of Nike. Davis states ‘I didn't like the way they felt on my feet. There was no support and they were too tight. But I saw Bowerman make them from the waffle iron, and they were mine."[19]
In 1964, Bowerman entered into a handshake agreement with
Bowerman's design ideas led to the creation of a running shoe in 1966 that was ultimately named "Nike Cortez" in 1968, which quickly became a top-seller and remains one of Nike's most iconic footwear designs. Bowerman designed several Nike shoes, but is best known for ruining his wife's Belgian waffle iron in 1970 or 1971, experimenting with the idea of using waffle-ironed rubber to create a new sole for footwear that would grip but be lightweight.[20] Bowerman's design inspiration led to the introduction of the so-called "Moon Shoe" in 1972, so named because the waffle tread was said to resemble the footprints left by astronauts on the Moon. Further refinement resulted in the "Waffle Trainer" in 1974, which helped fuel the explosive growth of Blue Ribbon Sports/Nike. While Bowerman was experimenting with shoe design, he worked in a small, unventilated space, using glue and solvents with toxic components that caused him severe nerve damage. The nerve damage to his lower legs left him with significant mobility problems; as Kenny Moore notes in his book Bowerman and the Men of Oregon, Bowerman had rendered himself unable to run in the shoes that he had given the world.[21]
Bowerman was obsessed with shaving weight off his athletes'
Knight once said of Bowerman's importance to the company, "If coach (Bowerman) isn't happy, Nike isn't happy."[22]
Bowerman reduced his role with the company in the late 1970s and began passing down his stake in the company to other employees shortly before the IPO launched.[citation needed]
Legacy
Bowerman is a member of the
In 2009, the
Death
In declining health in late 1999, Bowerman died at age 88 at his home at an assisted care facility in Fossil, Oregon.[1][26]
See also
References
- ^ a b Conrad, John (December 26, 1999). "Track pioneer dead at age 88". Eugene Register-Guard. p. 1A.
- ISBN 9781119421979.
- ISBN 978-1-59486-190-1.
- ^ a b Gallagher, Bill (June 2006). "Bowerman: The man, the legend and the new biography by Kenny Moore". Brainstorm NW.
- ISBN 978-0-7892-6094-9.
- ^ a b c "About Bowerman". Archived from the original on January 8, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
- ^ Moore, p. 67-68
- ^ Moore, p. 71
- ^ Moore, p. 77
- ^ Moore, p. 78-79
- ^ Moore, p. 81
- ^ "Does the U.S. 4xMile record belong in Eugene? The Ducks say: Absolutely. Track news, notes & links". oregonlive.com. April 9, 2009.
- ^ Putnam, Pat (June 15, 1970). "The Freshman And The Great Guru". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 32, no. 24. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
- ^ a b "Poll check adds 1 vote" [election vote recount] (December 15, 1970). The Oregonian, p. 18.
- ^ Newnham, Blaine (March 24, 1973). "Bowerman retires; Dellinger takes helm". Eugene Register-Guard. p. 1B.
- ^ "Oregon's Bill Bowerman resigns as track coach". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. March 24, 1973. p. 9.
- ^ "Bill Bowerman retiring; Bill Dellinger to take post". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 24, 1973. p. 11.
- ^ Moore, Kenny (April 2006). Leading Men. Runner's World. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
- ^ Hague, Jim (May 14, 2006). "Truant officer was Olympic hero Emerson High has gold medalist in midst". The Hudson Reporter. Archived from the original on May 4, 2012. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
- ^ Blitz, Matt (July 15, 2016). "How a Dirty Old Waffle Iron Became Nike's Holy Grail". Popular Mechanics July 15, 2016. Popular Mechanics. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
- ^ Moore, p. 383ff
- ^ Phil Knight (2016). "Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike"
- USTFCCCA. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ Lewis, Tom. "Rupp, Barringer Honored as Inaugural Winners of The Bowerman". Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ "The Bowerman: Trophy Design". Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ Shoe Dog
Sources
- ISBN 978-1-59486-190-1.
- Bowerman, William J (1991). High-performance training for track and field. Champaign, Ill.: Leisure Press. ISBN 0-88011-390-1.
- Freeman, William H. (1972). A biographical study of William Jay Bowerman.
- Greenberg, Keith (1994). Bill Bowerman & Phil Knight: Building the Nike Empire. Blackbirch Press. ISBN 978-1-56711-085-2.
External links
- Bill Bowerman Papers at the University of Oregon
- National Distance Running Hall of Fame Induction
- Bill Bowerman Documentary produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting
- Bill Bowerman at the USATF Hall of Fame (archived)