50 Fun Facts About Nike

Nike takes its name from the Greek goddess of what?

In Hesiod she is a daughter of Styx who sided with Zeus against the Titans, so Zeus kept her at his side ever after.

Under what name was Nike founded in 1964?

It became Nike, Inc. on 30 May 1971; the founders were an Oregon runner and his coach.

Nike's two co-founders were Phil Knight and which University of Oregon track coach?

Bowerman coached Oregon for 24 years, winning four NCAA team titles, and hated being called 'coach'.

Before making its own shoes, the young company distributed running shoes from which Japanese maker?

Knight sold most of the early pairs out of the boot of his car at track meets.

How many pairs of shoes did the young company sell in its first year in business, 1964?

That first year grossed just $8,000; the company reported revenue above $46 billion in fiscal 2022.

Which kitchen appliance did Nike's coach co-founder borrow from his wife to make a grippy sole in 1971?

The idea came up over breakfast; the resulting 'Moon Shoe' got its name because the tread looked like astronauts' lunar footprints.

Nike's 1972 'Moon Shoe' got its name because its waffle tread was said to resemble what?

A pair sold at Sotheby's in 2019 for $437,500, then the highest price ever paid for sneakers.

Who designed the Nike Swoosh logo in 1971?

She was a graphic design student at Portland State, where Phil Knight taught accounting; the shape evokes the goddess Nike's wing.

How much was Carolyn Davidson paid for designing the Swoosh?

Knight's first reaction was 'Well, I don't love it, but maybe it will grow on me'; the mark was registered as a trademark in 1974.

Runner Jeff Johnson, the company's first employee, is credited with what contribution?

The name reportedly came to him in a dream, beating alternatives the founders were considering.

Which was the first running shoe Nike released under its own name, in 1972?

Named after the conquistador after 'Aztec' drew a legal threat from Adidas, it later became Forrest Gump's running shoe.

Which rival's threat over its 'Azteca Gold' shoe stopped Nike calling its first running shoe 'Aztec'?

The name Cortez pays tribute to Hernán Cortés, whose expedition brought down the Aztec Empire.

Which 1994 film character gets a pair of Nike's first running shoe and becomes a famous runner?

George Costanza on Seinfeld also favours the shoe.

Nike's 'Just Do It' slogan was coined in 1988 by which advertising executive?

Advertising Age named it one of the top five slogans of the 20th century, and it is enshrined in the Smithsonian.

The ad man behind 'Just Do It' credited the inspiration to the last words of whom?

Gilmore reportedly said 'Let's do it' before his 1977 execution; the first ad starred 80-year-old runner Walt Stack.

Nike's North American sport-shoe share rose from 18% in 1988 to roughly what by 1998?

Worldwide sales went from $877 million to $9.2 billion in the same decade.

Michael Jordan signed his first Nike deal in October 1984. What was it worth over six years?

That was three times any other NBA shoe deal at the time; Jordan Brand alone brought Nike $5.1 billion in 2022.

The NBA fined Michael Jordan for wearing the red-and-black Air Jordan I. How much was the fine per game?

Nike paid every fine and turned the ban into its 'Banned' ad; the first 50,000 pairs sold out and made over $150 million.

The 'Jumpman' logo comes from a Jordan photo originally shot for which magazine in 1984?

Designer Peter Moore saw the Co Rentmeester photograph and had Jordan recreate the pose in his Bulls uniform.

Which 1982 Bruce Kilgore design was the first basketball shoe to use Nike's Air cushioning?

It became so common in Harlem that it earned the nickname 'Uptowns'; the white-on-white version is the biggest seller.

Nike's Air technology began when M. Frank Rudy pitched the idea in 1977. What was his profession?

His pressurised gas pouches in the midsole eventually became visible in the Air Max line of 1987.

Which designer conceived the Air Max after starting at Nike designing stores?

He also designed most of the Air Jordans and the self-lacing Nike Mag for Back to the Future Part II.

Nike's Air Max line launched in which year?

The original 'big bubble' had a habit of popping in temperature swings and had to be recalled and reworked.

What was the 1985 Nike Dunk first called, because its colourways matched university teams?

Its skateboarding variant, the SB Dunk, later gave Nike its way into skate culture.

The limited-run Nike Mag of 2011 and 2016 replicates a self-lacing shoe from which film?

The 2011 pairs were auctioned for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's research.

Which musician's 2009 Air Yeezy was Nike's first full collaboration with a non-athlete?

He revealed the shoe on stage at the 2008 Grammys before the deal was public, and later took the Yeezy line to a rival brand.

Where is Nike's world headquarters campus?

The eight-building campus opened in 1990; a state law bars Beaverton from forcibly annexing it for 35 years.

Which Oregon star was Nike's first track endorser and its only athlete honoured with a statue?

He was Bowerman's prized pupil; a building on the Nike campus is named after him.

Nike bought which classic sneaker brand for $309 million in 2003?

By 2020 it was Nike's only remaining subsidiary after Cole Haan, Umbro, Hurley and Bauer Hockey were sold.

Nike made its first uniforms for a professional team in 1979. Which team?

The Timbers played in the old North American Soccer League; the first Niketown store opened in Portland in 1990.

Nike's 1987 commercial that drew a $15 million lawsuit from Apple Records used which Beatles song?

Capitol-EMI said it had licensed the song with Yoko Ono's support; Nike pulled the ads in March 1988.

Nike's 2018 'Just Do It' anniversary campaign around which athlete prompted some people to burn their Nikes?

The ad read 'Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything'; LeBron James and Serena Williams publicly backed it.

Nike withdrew a July 2019 Air Max 1 after Colin Kaepernick objected to which design on its heel?

The 13-star flag was linked by critics to the era of slavery; the shoe was pulled before release.

Studies found Nike's Vaporfly running shoes could improve marathon times by up to roughly what?

Their carbon plate and foam prompted World Athletics to issue new shoe rules in January 2020.

What tagline did Nike give LeBron James when he signed?

Nike's NBA deal, extended in 2024, keeps the Swoosh on league uniforms through 2037.

Which coach's four-year doping ban in 2019 folded Nike's Oregon Project running team?

Salazar had won three straight New York City Marathons in the early 1980s.

Nike's first retail store opened in 1966 in which California city?

It was at 3107 Pico Boulevard, when the company was still Blue Ribbon Sports selling Tiger shoes.

Phil Knight's Stanford paper noted Japanese products had beaten German ones in which market?

He graduated with his MBA in 1962 and discovered Tiger shoes on a trip to Japan soon after.

What did Phil Knight do for a living before Nike took off?

He worked for Coopers & Lybrand and Price Waterhouse, then taught accounting at Portland State, where he met the Swoosh's designer.

Roughly what share of Nike's 2023 sales came from footwear?

Apparel was about 27%, Converse under 5% and equipment just over 3%.

Nike's Air Max Day, when new Air Max models debut, is celebrated on which date?

The 2024 edition marked the tenth Air Max Day with the launch of the Air Max DN and 'Dynamic Air'.

The Nike Free running line, launched in 2005, was inspired by Nike-sponsored athletes doing what?

Its numbering runs from 0 for barefoot to 10 for a normal running shoe.

Which brand made the signed 1984 Olympics Michael Jordan shoes that held the sneaker auction record until 2019?

Jordan wore Converse in the 1984 Olympic final before signing with Nike that October.

In 2023 Nike announced it would stop using the skin of which animal in its football boots?

It promised a proprietary synthetic upper instead after pressure from animal-rights campaigners.

Which upscale footwear company was Nike's first acquisition, in 1988?

Nike later bought Bauer Hockey, Hurley, Starter and Umbro too, but sold them all off; Cole Haan went in 2013.

In which year did Nike go public?

By then it already held about half of the US athletic shoe market; the IPO came in December of that year.

What was the title of Nike's first 'brand ad' in 1977, which showed no product?

It was created by John Brown and Partners of Seattle, the company's first advertising agency, hired the year before.

Which Liverpool striker became the first footballer to sign a Nike sponsorship deal, in 1982?

Nike's football push accelerated a decade later with signings such as Romário, Eric Cantona and Edgar Davids.

Which NBA team initially wore the Jumpman logo instead of the swoosh under Nike's 2017 uniform deal?

The team was owned by Michael Jordan, and the eight-year deal marked the first time a maker's logo appeared on NBA jerseys.

In which city did the first Niketown store open, in November 1990?

It opened the same year the company moved into its eight-building world headquarters campus nearby in Beaverton.