Shoe Dog: 14. 1974 Summary & Analysis

On April 14, 1974, Knight finds himself in a federal courtroom facing down Onitsuka and their head lawyer, Wayne Hilliard. Knight listens as Hilliard gives his opening statement. Hilliard claims Knight and his friends “conned” Onitsuka into partnering with them because they claimed they had a shoe company, when one did not yet exist. While listening to Hilliard, Knight finds himself siding with Onitsuka. However, when Houser stands up immediately afterward and makes the case for Blue Ribbon, Knight feels reassured. He is proud of the work he has done and Houser for defending him.

Blue Ribbon acts as the plaintiff in the case, so they present their side of the story first. Knight is the first witness Houser calls to the stand, and he gives a terrible performance. He is incredibly nervous the entire time and barely gives coherent answers. He feels his performance likely read as lying, even though he was always truthful. Even when Houser questions Knight, he has a hard time coming up with answers. Then, when Hilliard takes his turn, Knight gets decimated and leaves the stand feeling he has lost the case.

Luckily, there is a lot more of the trial still to go. Furthermore, Houser and Strasser think James the Just—the judge in the proceeding—is on Blue Ribbon’s side. A few days into the trial, James the Just orders everyone to stop talking about the case in public because it is causing a media circus he wants to avoid. Everyone promises they will refrain from speaking on the case again until it is over.

Unfortunately, the same day, Johnson leaves the courtroom and discusses the case with an old friend of his. When he enters the courtroom the next day, Johnson sees his friend speaking with the Onitsuka lawyers. Evidently, Johnson’s friend betrayed him, which makes Blue Ribbon’s side look bad because they talked about the case in public just hours after they were told not to. Knight worries this incident will bias James the Just against them.

However, Johnson makes up for his error when he takes the stand. His testimony is one of the highlights of the trial, and he paints Blue Ribbon in the best light possible. Less impressive is Bowerman’s testimony. Despite Bowerman’s usual calm demeanor under pressure, he does not do well on the stand. Knight can tell Bowerman did not prepare for the trial because he did not feel he needed to. Knight does not get angry with Bowerman, but he is disappointed because his legal team thought Bowerman’s testimony would be a slam dunk for their case.

However, Blue Ribbon gets a win when Iwano, Kitami’s assistant, takes the stand. Iwano’s testimony is entirely honest and helps Blue Ribbon more than it does Onitsuka. Unfortunately, every time Blue Ribbon seems to get a win, they follow it up with a loss shortly afterward. Woodell is the final person to go on the stand, and he is even more nervous than Knight was. He barely manages to spell his name and breaks down into a nervous laughing fit when questioned, which enrages James the Just.

After Blue Ribbon rests its case, it is Onitsuka’s turn. They start by calling Mr. Onitsuka to the stand; Mr. Onitsuka pleads ignorance regarding the entire matter. After Onitsuka, Kitami takes the stand and requests a translator despite speaking fluent English. Knight is outraged that Kitami would lie about his fluency, and his testimony is even worse. Everything he says on the stand is a lie; he even claims he never intended to break the Blue Ribbon contract.

After Onitsuka rests its case, everyone is dismissed while James the Just contemplates the case. A few weeks later, everyone returns to the courtroom to hear the verdict. James the Just rules in Blue Ribbon’s favor because, although he thinks everyone is in the wrong, the Blue Ribbon team was honest while the Onitsuka team was not. Among other things, James the Just apparently caught on to the fact that Kitami did not need a translator.

One week after the trial, Blue Ribbon gets a settlement offer from Onitsuka for $400,000, half of which goes to Houser’s firm for their work on the case. The sudden influx of cash gives Knight leverage with his bank, which is especially helpful now that he can go back to focusing on business as usual. Kitami meets with the Blue Ribbon team in person to the sign papers, which will end their feud once and for all. To Knight’s surprise, Kitami shakes his hand. Knight and his team do their best to be gracious winners Following Blue Ribbon’s victory in court, Knight hires Strasser to work for the company full-time. Strasser happily accepts the position, as he feels like he is already part of the team.

Blue Ribbon gets about two weeks to celebrate its legal victory before trouble starts brewing again. In 1974, the yen begins fluctuating rapidly, and Knight begins to think that Japan is no longer a good place to manufacture Nikes because the market is so volatile. Knight begins eyeing new manufacturing spots including Taiwan, Puerto Rico, and America.

Ultimately, Knight decides to use a factory in New England, which he feels makes the most sense economically and practically. Unfortunately, Knight needs someone to run the factory, and he knows he only has one good option: Johnson. Johnson is not happy when he hears the news. He just moved back west only a year ago, and now Knight wants to send him back east. However, as always, Johnson eventually accepts Knight’s deal.

By the end of the year, Blue Ribbon is set to hit $8 million in sales, and they show no sign of slowing down. Knight continues to spend money that he does not have, much to the chagrin of his bank. He also signs new celebrity endorsements, including Jimmy Connors, a talented young tennis player. In addition, Prefontaine is still smashing records and being an amazing spokesperson for Blue Ribbon. Knight is overjoyed to have Prefontaine on the team and thinks he will be there forever.