There is no doubt of Bill Bowerman’s influence in the legacy of Nike. As the former coach to Nike founder, Phil Knight, Bowerman was arguably the backbone of the company’s entire research and development team. Though Bowerman may have long since past, his creations live on. The man behind the famous waffle iron that spearheaded Nike’s success had made shoes for his athletes at Oregon. Now, one of those handmade pairs is going up for auction.
John Mays, a runner at the University of Oregon, is now selling his handmade spikes created by Bill Bowerman. As the former teammate of legendary runner Steve Prefontaine, Mays was given the pair of spikes during his years as an Oregon athlete. Featuring a white leather base, the spikes feature hand punched holes and a set of basic laces. From the pictures below, you can see that the spikes are different from each other. The right features a waffle outsole whereas the left does not.
Mays was a close friend of Bowerman and was also the sprinting coach at Oregon for a number of years. With these being such a rare item to come up, you can expect these to sell for a pretty penny. The handmade spikes are up for auction now with a starting bid of $110,000.
Check out the auction here and let us know if you’d cop this piece of history.
Image Source: Sotheby’s
