The History Of The Nike Air Flight Huarache

Nike Air Flight Huarache

Nike has owned the basketball shoe game since it dropped the Air Jordan 1 in 1985. The Air Flight Huarache was worn by basketball gods like Reggie Miller, Scottie Pippen and the later in its history, Kobe Bryant. The legendary “Fab Five” wore the Nike Air Flight Huarache for the Michigan Wolverines. Chris Webber and the rest of the Fab Five might have contributed more than anyone to making the Nike Air Flight Huarache such a hit in the 1990s.

1992

The Nike Air Flight Huarache was originally released in 1992. They were designed by Tinker Hatfield and Eric Avar. Hatfield and Avar are two of the most prolific sneaker creators of all time. Their design features an Air logo on the heel. Nike Air cushioning in the heel and forefoot. The collar cutouts are possibly the most recognizable aspect of the basketball shoe.

About Phil Knight

Phil Knight is the co-founder of Nike. Knight was the President of Nike from 1968 to 1990. He would return as President from 2000-2004. Before getting involved with Nike, Knight was a certified public accountant and a Professor of Business Administration.

About Bill Bowerman

Bill Bowerman is one of the most renowned track coaches of all time. Bowerman coached Phil Knight when he was a runner at the University of Oregon. Bowerman was a coach at Oregon for 24 years. He helped to develop some of the greatest runners of all time, like Steve Prefontaine.

The Knight & Bowerman Team

Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight both had an interest in approving the footwear that was available for athletes. In the early 1970s, Bowerman developed the waffle outsole. The waffle outsole was an experiment by Bowerman that had him pouring rubber compound into his wife’s waffle iron. The duo wanted to offer athletic shoes with more traction and that were lighter. The waffle soles and the great marketing of Nike helped to establish them as a leading athletic shoemaker very quickly.

- Adam C. Better