It is history that Phil Knight, the former University of Oregon runner, in partnership with his former coach, Bill Bowerman, founded Blue Ribbon Sports, the company that became Nike.

And it is history, too, that the first athlete who came to represent the fledgling company, as both symbol and salesman, was distance runner Steve Prefontaine, whose memory lives, 33 years after his death, in the Prefontaine Classic track and field meet Sunday at Hayward Field.

But there is this, too: If you lived in Eugene, and parts of Oregon, in the early 1970s, chances are that you bought your first pair of Nike running shoes from Geoff Hollister.