History Of Nike Inc.

Nike, Inc. was started by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, who met each other in 1957.  Before going into business, Knight became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).  Blue Ribbon Sports, the original Nike, Inc., was founded in 1964 by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight with a collective investment of $1000 to fund the business endeavor.  The company began with Bowerman and Knight being local distributors for the Onitsuka Tiger footwear brand (now owned by ASICS); Bowerman and and Knight did business out of their cars at local track meets and sporting events to athletes in the vicinity of the University Of Oregon.  The first Blue Ribbon Sports retail store opened in Santa Monica, California in 1966.  As their company's profits began to grow, Bowerman and Knight soon realized that their financial limits imposed by Onitsuka Tiger would limit their long-term profits.  Consequentially, Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS) cut ties with Onitsuka Tiger and began to create and market their own line of footwear and apparel. 
http://www.nikerepository.com/nike-company-history ( website researched from )