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Notable Oregonians: Bill Bowerman - Coach and Innovator

William Jay "Bill" Bowerman was born on February 19, 1911 in Portland, Oregon. His father, Jay, was president of the Oregon Senate and briefly served as acting governor of Oregon. After his parents divorced in 1913, Bowerman spent his early years in Fossil, Oregon with his mother. He later graduated from Medford High School and the University of Oregon. A lack of money to attend medical school eventually led him to a career as a coach, including eight years at Medford High School. World War II intervened and Bowerman served in the Army’s Tenth Mountain Division from 1943 until 1945 before returning to Medford.

His big break came when longtime University of Oregon track coach Bill Hayward retired in 1947.The next year the University of Oregon hired Bowerman as head track coach, a position he would hold until 1972. Over the years, his team won 24 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) individual titles and four NCAA team championships. Bowerman also coached 33 Olympians, 38 conference champions, and 64 All-Americans. In dual meets during his tenure, the Ducks built a 114-20 record and recorded 10 undefeated seasons.

Bowerman's innovations spanned both training and equipment. He focused on individual training for his athletes with weekly workout schedules designed specifically for the personal goals of each member of the team. Counter to prevailing practices that often led to overtraining, Bowerman developed the now popular hard-easy training method that gave runners easy days to let their bodies recover. Moreover, he taught his