Bill Bowerman

Bill Bowerman ( born February 19, 1911 in Portland (Oregon ), † 24 December 1999) was an American track and field coach (including the U.S. running legend Steve Prefontaine ), designer and entrepreneur. In the 1960s he was involved in the foundation of the later sporting goods global corporation Nike. But officially he does not occur until 1971, as co-founder in the company hierarchy.

As a designer in the company, he designed in the 1960s, later known as the retro model shoe Cortez and in 1979 with the model Tailwind the first running shoe with air cushioning in the midsole.

In the first copies of his model Waffle Trainer he is said to have influenced the pattern on the outsole with the waffle iron his wife.

His experiments with fish skin as an exterior material for running shoes were not a success.

When running shoe collection in 2005 by Nike, there were in his honor again the " Bowerman Series", a compilation of certain models in limited editions with certain amenities and colors. For the first time, " Bowerman Series" was launched in 2001.