Shoe Dog: Young Readers Edition

In Chapter 8, Knight explains that Blue Ribbon “posted $150,000 in sales in 1968, and in 1969 [they are] on [their] way to just under $300,000” (171). Deciding that his company is doing well enough to justify a salary for himself, Knight quits his teaching job and starts paying himself $18,000 per year. In addition to hiring a number of new sales reps, he also hires Carolyn Davidson, a student-artist, to help with advertising. Bowerman has just returned from the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City and explains that Blue Ribbon’s booth in the Olympic Village failed to generate any interest. Plenty of athletes there were training in Tigers, just not competing in them, because Blue Ribbon “had not a penny for endorsements” (176). Puma and Adidas use competitive, sometimes even illegal tactics of paying athletes under the table to wear their products, which gives them more visibility. Bowerman also explains that he had run into Kitami at the Games and decided that “he didn’t much care for the man” (176). Knight agrees with this assessment, pointing out that he felt that Kitami had cooled on his support of the company.

Although he later regrets it, Knight sends a memo to all employees saying that that he has cultivated a spy inside Onitsuka to keep tabs on Kitami. He also explains that such tactics are common in Japanese business. In the spring, Knight learns that Penny is pregnant, so he begins looking for a new house. At the same time, he and Woodell begin looking for a more suitable office space for Blue Ribbon and finally settle for a place south of Portland. During this process, the two men bond, and Woodell begins spending more time with both Knight and Penny at their new home. Penny gives birth to a son named Matthew in September, and Blue Ribbon’s sales continue to rise, but trouble arises when Bork, who has been manning the retail store in California, threatens to quit. Describing it as his “second mutiny” (191-92), Knight responds angrily but later dispatches Woodell to smooth things over, which he is able to do by getting him help in the warehouse. 

In Chapter 9, Knight describes yet another trip to Japan, this time hoping to renew his deal with Onitsuka. While he is hoping for a new five-year deal, he is offered a three-year deal and accepts. With Onitsuka profits soaring, they assure Knight that their shipping problems “[will] soon be a thing of the past,” but he is still skeptical (195). Even if Onitsuka does iron out its shipping issues, Knight still faces the dilemma that more and larger orders with his new contract will require more and larger loans from the bank. These will be much more difficult to repay, and he likely won’t be able to secure them anyway. This dilemma forces Knight to consider longer-term financial solutions. He first attempts to sell 30% of the company through a public offering but is unsuccessful. Later, he resorts to asking friends and family for money, which he had “vowed never to do” (201).

Midway through the year, Knight notices an issue of Sports Illustrated that features a young Oregon Ducks runner named Steve Prefontaine. Prefontaine has already shattered numerous records, and now Bowerman is describing him as “the fastest middle-distance runner alive” and “the best runner [he’s] ever had” (205). One of Oregon’s assistant coaches is quoted as saying that Prefontaine’s confidence is his secret weapon, which makes Knight realize that confidence is what he needs as well. According to Knight, another revelation comes from Fortune magazine when he reads an article about Japanese trading companies (205-06). This leads him to seek out such a company to do a deal with at a local branch of the Bank of Tokyo. He is offered a deal on the spot but decides that he needs to clear it with Onitsuka before he accepts. 

After hearing from his Onitsuka spy that Kitami is in the process of trying to replace Blue Ribbon with other US distributors, Knight invites Kitami to visit. Kitami arrives in Portland in March of 1971, and Knight begins his “charm offensive” (210). The charm offensive does not work, however, as Kitami visits the home office and berates Knight for sluggish sales, referring to some papers that he has stored in his briefcase. When Kitami excuses himself from the room for a moment, Knight steals the documents and finds a list of 18 other US distributors that Kitami is planning to visit on his trip. This confirms what his spy has told him, that Onitsuka plans to drop him as their exclusive US distributor. Knight is outraged about the developments, but after conferring with his accountant, he decides the best course of action is to try to maintain their relationship as long as possible because “Blue Ribbon would be lost without Onitsuka” (217).

Before leaving the US, Kitami visits the Oregon headquarters again and suggests that Knight should sell Blue Ribbon to Onitsuka. Knight is again outraged but tells Kitami that he needs to talk it over with Bowerman. During his next visit to the bank, Knight is refused his standard credit request and told that “First National will not be able to do business any longer with Blue Ribbon” (219). At this point, Blue Ribbon, which finished 1971 with sales of $1.3 million, “[is] on life support” (220). Three weeks later, Knight goes to the Portland branch of Bank of California and receives a small line of credit. Knowing that this is only a temporary fix, Knight begins thinking about Nissho again, the Japanese trading company he had spoken with previously. A representative for Nissho tells Knight that they are “willing to take a second position to the bank on their loans” (221).

Knight knows that he and Onitsuka will soon part ways, but he needs to maintain the relationship long enough to develop other supply sources. With this in mind, Knight visits a factory in Central Mexico and comes away impressed. Knight signs a contract and immediately places an order for 3,000 pairs of shoes, but he now needs a name and logo for his shoes. He asks Carolyn Davidson to work on a logo while he begins asking his employees about possible names. Among Davidson’s logo drawings, Knight decides on the one that looks “like a whoosh of air” (226), but the name causes much more debate. Knight is partial to “Dimension Six” but ultimately goes with a name that Johnson dreamed about the previous night, Nike. Knight likes that Nike was the Greek goddess of victory.