What was Nike’s original company name when it was founded in 1964?

Nike’s original company name was Blue Ribbon Sports when it was founded in 1964.

Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman established Blue Ribbon Sports on January 25, 1964. Knight had developed the idea while studying at the University of Oregon and later presented it in his Stanford business-school thesis. Bowerman was Knight’s former track coach and became the company’s product-development partner.

The business initially imported running shoes made by Japan’s Onitsuka Tiger, now known as ASICS, rather than manufacturing its own footwear. Knight sold shoes from his car at track meets, while Bowerman experimented with improving athletic-shoe designs.

Blue Ribbon Sports began using the Nike name for its own footwear in the early 1970s and officially became Nike, Inc. in 1978. This history is sometimes simplified by saying Nike began in 1964, but the company itself was not originally called Nike.