HISTORY101 : Nike Cortez

Ever heard the saying “Knowledge is King”? Well, here at MASSES, we really believe that to be true. Amidst the entire craze to chase the hype, we still need to add knowledge into the equation. Why? Simple. If not for knowledge, you will be equated as one of Malaysia’s famous term, a “Tin Kosong”. So that is why we are starting this new segment called “HISTORY101” which is a segment where we take a particular pair of shoe and highlight some of the history behind it. For our first edition of “HISTORY101”, we will be showcasing the Nike Cortez since they just re-released them again.

For any avid Nike fan, they would know that Nike was founded by Phillip Knight and Bill Bowerman. The both of them met in the late 1950s, Phillip Knight was a middle-distance runner for the University of Oregon, and he was coached by Bill Bowerman. Phil, upon graduating with his degree, flew to Japan to meet up with the dudes from Onitsuka Tiger Co. Ltd where he convinced them that their products had a market in the USA. So in 1963, Phil received his first shipment of Onitsuka Tiger shoes and in 1964, he and Bill formed Blue Ribbon Sports company to sell the shoes.

Phil handled the business side of the company, while Bill experimented with improvements in athletic footwear. One of the first ever shoe to come out of his vast collection of ideas is the Cortez. The shoe was designed in 1966, during a period of when Bill was pretty obsessed with the idea of JOGGING. During that time, jogging was almost unheard of and it wasn’t something that people do as a fitness routine. So during his trip to New Zealand, he was introduced to it by a friend who organizes a jogging club there. So fascinated by it, he came back and researched on jogging, where he wrote articles and books about it. Together with a cardiologist W.E Harris, he published a book titled ‘Jogging’ and it sold over a million copies.

The problem with most running shoes is that the sole is pretty thin and running in it for a long period of time will cause quite a lot of discomfort. So Bill wanted to make a shoe that was comfortable and durable for people to do distance training and also to do road running. So in 1968, the Cortez was finalized. The shape and look of the Cortez is very much influenced by the shape of an Onitsuka Tiger shoe, since Blue Ribbon Sports were the main distributors of their shoes in the USA. The biggest difference is that the sole is way thicker and that the shape is slightly broader and higher to cater to the foot of an American athlete.

In 1971, Blue Ribbon Sports was later changed to Nike Inc., and a year later in 1972, Nike introduced their footwear to the world. The Cortez, alongside with other Nike footwear were introduced to the public during the heat of the 1972 Olympics, which really helped push the sales of the shoes, especially the Cortez. Many would say that the Cortez was the key to Nike Inc.’s success today, as the shoe’s success helped stamp them as a major footwear company even during the company’s first year.