Shoe Dog: Young Readers Edition

The final chapter of Shoe Dog: Young Readers Edition is the most heavily abridged version of the text. Onitsuka gives Knight a notice of termination, and Nike is now on its own, “with an unproven source of supply and a brand no one ha[s] heard of” (233). The actual debut for Nike comes at both the 1972 Sporting Goods Show in Chicago, where retailers place orders more heavily than expected, and at the 1972 US Olympic Trials, which are held in Eugene, Oregon, for the first time. At the Trials, many athletes train in Nikes, and about “25 percent of the marathoners [are] in one model or another of the new Nike racing flats” (234). The highlight of the event, however, is the 5,000-meter race, which pits Prefontaine against three-time Olympian George Young. While both runners break the American record, Prefontaine pulls away at the end and wins. Knight decides after the race that Nike will be resilient and courageous like Prefontaine: “He would be our exemplar, our North Star” (235).

Later in the year, Onitsuka sues Knight for breach of contract, and he in turn countersues in the US and has his cousin Houser represent him on a contingent free basis.