Nike's original Name:
Originally the company we know today as Nike was not always called Nike. It was actually first called Blue Ribbon Sports from the years of 1964-1971. In 1964 Blue Ribbon sports was founded by an agreement made between Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman in Portland, Oregon on January 25th. Phil and Bill made the agreement legitimate by shaking each other's hands. The company first blossomed after their release of the Nike footwear line. The shoes went by the name of, "Nike", however the company itself was still known as Blue Ribbon Sports. Eventually as the Nike footwear line grew in popularity, the name Blue Ribbon Sports declined in popularity. More and more people recognized the products as Nike. Finally on December 31, 1981 Blue Ribbon Sports merged into Nike and since that day the company has officially been seen as Nike Inc.