I happily stand corrected.  That part was from my memory and not the story.  I thought Jordan was the one who raised the Gatorade phenomenon to a whole new level that led to the explosion of other companies making their own versions and marketing them the same way.  But there may have been others...

Can you list a pre-MJ endorser from memory?  I guess whether he was the first or not, I would argue that he used his substantial clout to push Gatorade on the world instead of something more beneficial.