Background

Phil Knight was born on February 24, 1938, in Portland, Oregon, the United States, to a lawyer turned newspaper publisher William W. Knight, and his wife Lota. His father was a domineering though a caring person who encouraged his son to push his limits.

Education

Phil Knight attended Cleveland High School. He was shy yet bright, did well in school, and loved sports. His slim build kept him out of football, and he never mastered baseball, so young Phil chose running. His speed and endurance were perfect for the track team at his high school, and Knight practiced by running several miles to and from an after school job at a local newspaper.

When it was time for college, he chose the University of Oregon at Eugene because of its famous track program. There he met the legendary track coach Bill Bowerman under whom he trained as a middle-distance runner. Eventually, Knight struck up a deep and meaningful friendship with Bowerman. He graduated with a journalism degree in 1959.

Knight was confused about his future even after his graduation and unsure of what he actually wanted to do. He enlisted in the army and completed a year of service. He decided to attend graduate school in California at Stanford University. He completed his studies, earning a master's degree in business administration in 1962. After graduation, he took a trip around the world, stopping at Japan along the way. One of the courses he studied was Frank Shallenberger’s small business class which he found very interesting.

Career

That interest in sports-and especially track-gave Knight the impetus to study the way track shoes were being made and marketed in the late 1950s. For assistance, he consulted his coach, the University of Oregon's famed Bill Bowerman, who himself would become a senior member of the Nike team. Together they determined that American shoes were inferior in style and quality, too heavy, and too easily damaged. The Japanese, on the other hand, were experimenting with new, trimmed-down styles fashioned in lightweight, hardy nylon. Knight wrote his Stanford business-school term paper on the subject, then a few years later got involved personally by visiting Japan and arranging to import new-design running shoes himself.

Knight believed Japan had superior production facilities and low-cost manufacturing processes; this made it a good choice for importing goods to American consumers. If costs were kept low, selling prices could be lower as well. Knight's instincts proved correct. While in Japan, he discovered an athletic shoe that he felt was far better than any available in the United States - the Onitsuka Tiger. Knight took an enormous chance: he bought a large shipment of the shoes to sell at home. This marked the beginning of Knight's future in athletic shoe sales.

On his return, he took up a job in a Portland-based accounting firm while working on his business plan alongside. He collaborated with his former coach Bowerman to form a partnership to distribute the shoes in America, and thus the company Blue Ribbon Sports was born in 1964. Blue Ribbon was made up on the spot when Knight placed his order; his company's headquarters were located in his parents' house. Knight also brought his former coach on board, and the two formed a partnership. Bowerman handled the research and development end of the business, while Knight focused on marketing and sales.

The duo worked hard to make the business grow and over the next few years, they opened retail stores in Santa Monica, California, and Eugene, Oregon. The company performed well and by the late 1960s was generating good profits. During its first year in business, Blue Ribbon Sports made $8,000; ten years later Knight and Bowerman changed Blue Ribbon Sports to Nike and were making $2 million in sales.

The company released the Nike Cortez in 1972 in tandem with the 1972 Olympics in Munich, and Knight ensured the shoes became a top choice of Olympic athletes. The Cortezes came in a variety of colors and debuted Nike’s now ubiquitous "swoosh" logo, making them one of the first sneakers that appealed as much to fashion as to function.

The company launched the now ubiquitous Air Force 1 model in 1982. It was the first shoe to feature Nike Air, a pocket of air in the heel that provided additional cushioning and support to basketball players. It went on to become one of the most popular sneakers ever, and millions of pairs are still sold every year.

Over the next several years Knight became one of the most recognized and powerful men in sports. By 1983, however, he had grown tired of running a company and decided to leave Nike. Since he had once taught business classes at Portland State University in Portland, Knight considered returning to the classroom full-time. Yet after he left his Nike kingdom, the business began to suffer and so did he. Knight missed Nike as much as the company missed his leadership, so not long after, he went back to reclaim his throne.

Nike saw steady growth throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The company’s escalating fame allowed Knight to rope in more world-famous sportspeople like Michael Jordan, Andre Agassi, Charles Barkley, and Tiger Woods for endorsements. Along with tremendous success, Knight also came under the scrutiny of human rights groups over how Nike treated its workers in Asian countries. Nike was accused of paying very low wages to its Asian workers, and there were also accusations of corporal punishment and sexual harassment in Nike facilities. In spite of the criticisms, Nike remained one of the world’s largest shoemakers.

One of Knight’s biggest accomplishments was signing Michael Jordan for an endorsement deal and launching Air Jordan, now one of the most successful sneaker franchises of all time. Nike courted Jordan in 1985 when he was a college basketball all-star on his way to the NBA. He signed a five-year contract for $500,000 a year, an unheard-of number at the time. Air Jordans hit stores for $65 a piece in March 1985, and by May the company had sold $70 million worth of Jordans, earning more than $100 million in revenue from the shoe by the end of the year.

In the 1990s, Nike expanded its business and branched out into hockey, golf, and soccer apparel. Their aggressive expansion strategy paid off and the company enjoyed more than $10 billion in yearly sales before 1999. Phil Knight resigned as the CEO of Nike in November 2004 though he continued as the chairman of the board. After 51 years of devoted to Nike, the 77-year-old Knight announced his plans to step down as chairman. Knight’s memoir, Shoe Dog, was released on April 26, 2016, by Simon & Schuster.

Achievements

• 

  Phil Knight co-founded Nike, Inc., a footwear company, in 1971. Today Nike is a multinational with its presence in several countries all over the world and is one of the world's largest suppliers of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment. It is the most valuable brand among sports businesses.
  
  In 2000, Phil Knight was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame for his exceptional contribution to sports in Oregon. In 2012, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. As of July 23, 2020, Knight was ranked by Forbes as the 26th richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $39.2 billion.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Shoe Dog

    (Fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed fifty ...)

    2016

Religion

Phil Knight is a Christian.

Politics

Knight has given the campaign of Oregon gubernatorial candidate Knute Buehler $2.5 million dollars. Knight has also given $1 million to the Republican Governors’ Association.

Views

A noted philanthropist, Knight has donated hundreds of millions of dollars. Knight has pledged over $500 million in donations to both the University of Oregon and Stanford's Graduate School of Business, his alma maters. In 2012, Knight contributed $65,000 to the higher education Political Action Committee (PAC) which aims to facilitate an increase in the autonomy of schools in the Oregon University System. In the year 2016, it was announced that Knight contributed $400 million to start the Knight-Hennessy Scholars graduate-level education program.

Quotations: "Dream audaciously. Have the courage to fail forward. Act with urgency."

"It’s not enough to do good things. You have to let people know what you’re doing."

"Dare to take chances, lest you leave your talent buried in the ground."

Personality

Phil Knight loves Japan. His frequent business trips to Japan in the '60s and '70s endeared him to its people and culture.

Interests

• Politicians

  Knute Buehler

• Writers

  Imagine It Forward: Courage, Creativity, and the Power of Change by Beth Comstock, Tahl Raz

• Sport & Clubs

  running

Connections

Knight married Penelope "Penny" Parks in September 1968. They had three children.

Father:

William W. Knight

Mother:

Lota Hatfield Knight

Spouse:

Penny Knight

Son:

Matthew Knight

Matthew died in a diving accident in 2004.

Son:

Travis Knight

Travis is known for working as the lead animator for Laika Entertainment and for directing Kubo and the Two Strings (his directorial debut).

Daughter:

Christina Knight

Friend:

Tiger Woods

Friend:

Bill Bowerman

During the 1960s Bowerman and Phil Knight, one of the athletes whom Bowerman had coached, each contributed $500 and manufactured 330 pairs of the new lightweight shoes. The venture was the foundation for Nike Inc., which was named for the Greek goddess of victory.

References

• Nike and Phil Knight: How They Grew and Changed the Fashion and Athletic Worlds Forever
  2016