Shoe Dog

At the beginning of the year, Knight offers Jeff Johnson a job as a commissioned salesman, and Johnson accepts. Johnson begins to send Knight an endless stream of letters in which he reports his sales, his plans, his suggestions, and his thoughts. He sends so many letters that Knight worries he is “unhinged.”

In April 1965 Johnson reports that he quit his job as a social worker in Los Angeles. Although Knight tries to convince Johnson that work at Blue Ribbon could be unstable, he ultimately accepts Johnson’s offer to become the company’s first full-time employee.

Knight runs into problems with his banker, who believes Blue Ribbon is growing too quickly for its equity. The banker observes, “Growth off your balance sheet is dangerous” (77). Knight, however, feels that growth is vital to his company’s survival. He continues to place orders with Onitsuka that are twice the size of the previous order and convinces the bank to approve the necessary loan.

Given so much uncertainty about the company’s future, Knight decides to find “a real job” (80). He’s hired as an accountant at Price Waterhouse, where he meets a man named Delbert Hayes. Hayes is a large man with a large appetite.