Bill Bowerman

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Bill Bowerman (born February 19, 1911 in Portland , Oregon , † December 24, 1999 in Fossil , Oregon) was an American athletics coach (including the US running legend Steve Prefontaine ), designer and entrepreneur.

Family and private

Bill Bowerman's father was the Governor Jay Bowerman . His mother grew up in Fossil, where the family moved again after their parents divorced in 1913. Bowerman has two older siblings, Dan and Mary Elizabeth "Beth"; and a twin brother, Thomas, who died in an elevator accident when he was two years old .

Bowerman married Barbara Young on June 22, 1936. Their first son, Jon, was born on June 22, 1938. William J. Bowerman, Jr. ("Jay") was born on November 17, 1942. During World War II , Bowerman served in the 10th Mountain Division . His entire (1932–1999) estate has been accessible since 2015.

Coaching career

His training style was based on large volumes at relatively slow speeds and is most comparable to Arthur Lydiard's . Bowerman's "Men of Oregon" at the University of Oregon won 24 NCAA individual titles and four NCAA team titles (1962-1964-1965-1970). Bowerman coached the world record team over 6.4 km (4 miles) in 1962 with Archie San Romani, Dyrol Burleson, Vic Reeve and Keith Forman. Bowerman trained Otis Davis, Steve Prefontaine, Kenny Moore, Bill Dellinger, Mac Wilkins, Jack Hutchins, Dyrol Burleson, Harry Jerome, Siegmar Ohlemann, Les Tipton, Gerry Moro, Wade Bell, Dave Edstrom, Roscoe Divine, Matt Centrowitz, Arne, among others Kvalheim, Jim Grelle, Bruce Mortenson and Phil Knight .

Nike

In the 1960s he was involved in founding what would later become the global sporting goods company, Nike . Officially, however, he did not appear in the company hierarchy until 1971 as a co-founder. As a designer in the company, he designed the Cortez shoe, later known as the retro model, in the 1960s and, in 1979, the Tailwind model, the first running shoe with gas mixture cushioning in the midsole. On the first copies of his Waffle-Trainer model , he is said to have embossed the pattern on the outsole with his wife's waffle iron . His attempts with fish skin as the outer material for running shoes were unsuccessful.

In the Nike running shoe collection of 2005, there was once again the “Bowerman Series” in his honor, a compilation of certain models in limited editions with certain features and colors. The "Bowerman Series" was launched in 2001 for the first time.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ He died on Christmas Eve in Fossil, Oregon
  2. ^ Cait Murphy: A History of American Sports in 100 Objects. New York, 2016: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-09774-6 (pages 93-97, in English).
  3. ↑ http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv98511
  4. ↑ Arnd Krüger : Many roads lead to Olympia. The changes in training systems for medium and long distance runners (1850–1997). In: N. Gissel (Hrsg.): Sporting performance in change . Czwalina, Hamburg 1998, pp. 41-56.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Bowerman, Bill
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American athletics trainer and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH February 19, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Portland, Oregon
DATE OF DEATH December 24, 1999
Place of death Fossil (Oregon)