9003 - Craig Virgin's High School-Worn White Onitsuka Tiger Track Spikes with Blue Ribbon Sports Bag

Craig Virgin's High School-Worn White Onitsuka Tiger Track Spikes with Blue Ribbon Sports Bag Craig Virgin's personally-owned and -worn Onitsuka Tiger track spikes in white and black, purchased by him in the fall of 1970 and worn during his sophomore, junior, and senior years of high school. The lightweight racing shoes feature off-white nylon uppers with contrasting black Onitsuka Tiger stripes along the sides, traditional lace-up closures, and reinforced stitching around the toe boxes. Both shoes exhibit extensive wear from many competitions, with pronounced discoloration, soiling, and fraying to the fabric, particularly around the heels and side panels. Includes a hard-to-find yellow carrying bag co-branded by Onitsuka Tiger and Blue Ribbon Sports, their exclusive distributors in the United States. Founded in 1964 by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman, Blue Ribbon Sports began as a small importer of Onitsuka Tiger running shoes before launching its own footwear line under the Nike brand name in 1972. His fastest races in them were a 4:09 mile and an 8:51 2-mile on the track, both winning times at the State Track Meet Finals in May 1972. An exceptional pair of racing shoes from the formative high school years of one of America's greatest distance runners. Virgin emerged as a high school sensation in Lebanon, Illinois, setting the national outdoor two-mile record of 8:40.9 in 1973. His use of Onitsuka Tigers coincided with Blue Ribbon Sports' transition from distributing the famous Japanese running shoes to developing its own Nike-branded footwear. In 1972, Virgin became an early beneficiary of this transformation, receiving handmade Nike prototype spikes from BRS/Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman and wearing them in international competition. Together, these well-worn Onitsuka Tigers and co-branded carrying bag offer a fascinating connection to Virgin's rise to prominence as well as Blue Ribbon Sports' evolution from a small footwear distributor into the global force now known as 'Nike.' Per Virgin's own race log, he wore these in 88 races from August 1970 to November 1972: 1970 Cross Country (Sophomore) 8/29/70: Highland St. Paul Dual, 2.55M, 1st, 13:53.1 9/1/70: Mascoutah Dual, 2.5M, 1st, 12:51 9/13/70: Columbia Invitational, 2.75M, 1st, 13:08 9/16/70: Highland St. Paul Invitational, 2.55M, 1st, 12:48 9/23/70: Triad Invitational, 2.75M, 1st, 13:42 9/28/70: Cahokia Conference at Waterloo, 2.7M, 1st, 14:09 10/5/70: St. Clair County at Mascoutah, 2.6M, 1st, 12:17 10/9/70: Waterloo Invitational, 2.7M, 1st, 13:55.4 10/27/70: Okawville District, 2.6M, 1st, 12:39 10/31/70: Centralia Sectional, 2.75M, 1st, 13:49 11/7/70: Illinois State Meet, Peoria, 2.67M, 6th, 13:04 1971 Indoor Track (Sophomore) 2/21/71: Central AAU Indoor, Champaign, 2M, 5th, 9:14.5 2/21/71: Central AAU Indoor, Champaign, 1M, 1st, 4:25.0 3/6/71: Illinois Track Club Open Indoor, Champaign, 2M, 3rd in heat, 9:05.4 3/6/71: Illinois Track Club Open Indoor, Champaign, 1M, 1st in heat, 4:24.0 1971 Outdoor Track (Sophomore) 4/3/71: Alton Relays, 2M, 1st, 9:16.7 4/11/71: Mineral Area at Cahokia, 2M, 1st, 9:17.9 4/11/71: Mineral Area at Cahokia, 880, 6th, 2:05.4 4/24/71: Orphan Relays, Centralia, 2M, 2nd, 9:12.6 4/28/71: St. Clair County at East St. Louis, 2M, 1st, 9:19.8 4/28/71: St. Clair County at East St. Louis, 1M, 1st, 4:32.5 5/2/71: Cahokia Invitational, 2M, 1st, 9:11.6 5/2/71: Cahokia Invitational, 1M, 1st, 4:28.4 5/22/71: Alton District, 2M, 1st, 9:11.4 5/22/71: Alton District, 1M, 2nd, 4:23.1 5/23/71: Meet of Champions, Carbondale, 2M, 1st, 9:02.6 5/23/71: Meet of Champions, Carbondale, 1M, 1st, 4:26.6 5/29/71: Illinois State Meet, Champaign, 2M, 2nd, 8:57.3 6/5/71: Midwest Classic, Mexico, MO, 1M, 1st, 4:19.8 6/5/71: Midwest Classic, Mexico, MO, 2M, 1st, 9:18.8 1971 Cross Country (Junior) 9/2/71: Okawville Dual, 3M, 1st, 14:15 9/11/71: Columbia Invitational, 2.9M, 1st, 14:43 9/13/71: Marissa Triangular, 3M, 1st, 14:58 9/15/71: Highland St. Paul Invitational, 2.6M, 1st, 12:16 9/18/71: Trico Invitational, Campbell Hill, 2.7M, 1st, 12:50 9/20/71: At New Athens, 2.9M, 1st, 13:36 9/22/71: Triad Invitational, 2.7M, 1st, 12:19 9/25/71: Edwardsville Invitational, 3M, 1st, 14:47 9/28/71: Cahokia Conference at Columbia, 2.9M, 1st, 14:19 9/29/71: At St. Henry, 2.5M, 1st, 11:30 10/5/71: St. Clair County at Mascoutah, 2.8M, 1st, 14:00 10/8/71: Waterloo Invitational, 2.8M, 1st, 13:32 10/12/71: At Centralia Triangular, 3M, 1st, 14:47.3 10/19/71: At Columbia, 2.9M, 1st, 13:54 10/21/71: At Red Bud Dual, 2.7M, 1st, 13:38 10/30/71: Centralia Sectional, 3M, 1st, 15:00 11/6/71: Illinois State Meet, Peoria, 3M, 1st, 13:59.3 (state champion/new course record) 1972 Indoor (Junior) 2/12/72: AAU Indoor, Champaign, 2M, 8:55.5 2/12/72: AAU Indoor, Champaign, 1M, 4:13.3 3/4/72: Champaign Indoor, 2M, 1st, 8:54.1 3/4/72: Champaign Indoor, 1M, 3rd, 4:14.6 3/26/72: Oak Park Relays, 1M, 2nd, 4:17.7 1972 Outd