Oral history interview with Bill Bowerman

Collection

Identifier: SR 9357

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Bill Bowerman was conducted by Linda S. Dodds in Eugene, Oregon, on September 17, 1981, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library’s oral history program. At the time of the interview, Dodds’ name was Linda S. Brody.

In this interview, Bowerman discusses his family background and early life in Fossil and Medford, Oregon, including playing football in high school. He talks about his experiences at the University of Oregon during the Depression, about working as a football and track coach at Medford High School, and about the coaching techniques of UO track coach Bill Hayward. He speaks at length about his career as track coach at University of Oregon from 1948 to 1973. He talks about technological advances in track equipment and about the running track at the university. He describes his introduction to jogging while in New Zealand, talks about introducing the sport to the U.S., and discusses developing running shoes for his athletes. He briefly shares his experiences as coach for the 1972 U.S. Olympic track team. He talks about working with the Amateur Athletics Union, about several athletes he trained, and about his retirement activities, including his continued involvement with Nike, Inc. He closes the interview by reflecting on his career.

Dates

1981 September 17

Creator

Bowerman, William J. (Interviewee, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Biographical note

William "Bill" Jay Bowerman was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1911. In 1913, his parents divorced and he moved with his mother to Fossil, Oregon. His family briefly moved to Seattle, Washington, then settled in Medford, Oregon. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon. He later also earned a master’s degree in education from UO. He briefly taught biology and coached football at Franklin High School in Portland, then returned to Medford in 1935 to coach football and track at Medford High School. In 1936, he and Barbara Young were married; they later had three children. He served in the U.S. Army in Italy during World War II. From 1948 to 1973, he was the track coach at University of Oregon. In 1964, he co-founded Nike, Inc. with Phil Knight. He died in 1999.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (2 audiocassettes (1 hr., 54 min., 5 sec.))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Bill Bowerman conducted by Linda S. Dodds on September 17, 1981. Bowerman discusses his career as track and field coach at the University of Oregon in Eugene from 1948 to 1973.