Nike was founded on January 25, 1964, by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight.
100 Mind-Blowing Bowerman Facts
A waffle iron inspired one of the first pairs of Nikes. Bill Bowerman was a track and field coach in the 1950s who didn’t like how running shoes were made. He first created the Cortez shoe but wanted a sneaker that was even lighter and could be worn on a variety of surfaces. During a waffle breakfast with his wife in 1970, he came up with the idea of using the waffle texture on the soles of running shoes. Waffle-soled shoes made their big debut in the 1972 U.S. Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, Oregon.
A waffle iron inspired one of the first iconic Nike shoes. Nowadays, running shoes have a wide range of different technology and materials. However, that wasn’t the case back in the 1950s. Bill Bowerman of Nike wanted to make a lighter running shoe that could be worn on different surfaces. As such, the idea of using a waffle texture sole came to him during breakfast with his wife. Check out the waffle sole on the recently retired Nike Tailwind ‘79.