Bill Bowerman coached Phil Knight in track and field for the University of Oregon. Bowerman wanted to help his runners, to improve their speed. Often times, Bowerman would tear apart old shoes and put them back together with goat skin to make the shoe more lightweight. When Bowerman reconstructed the running shoes, Knight would be his “guinea pig,” and test out the lightweight shoe . Soon after, the two became partners in the running shoe industry (“​Nike’s Fiercely Competitive Phil Knight”). Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight created the first Nike shoe in 1962 (“Nike, Inc.”). ​​​​​​​