On this episode of Our American Stories, before Nike became one of the world's most recognizable brands, it was a small company founded by a track coach and one of his former runners. Steve Bence was there. As a teammate of Steve Prefontaine at the University of Oregon, he learned from legendary coach Bill Bowerman, met Phil Knight before Nike became a household name, and watched the company grow from an ambitious startup into a global icon.

Bence, author of 1972: Pre, UO Track, Nike Shoes and My Life with Them All, shares remarkable firsthand stories about Steve Prefontaine, the fight to change amateur athletics, Bowerman's relentless drive to solve problems, and what it was like to witness the birth of Nike from the inside.

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