This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/10/2021
Simply stated, NBA gamers don’t get better than this: Michael Jordan rookie season home white jersey. This garment is pure basketball history. Michael Jordan’s October 26th, 1984 debut marked a new era for the NBA and gave birth to its greatest player. That first season Jordan averaged 28.2 points per game and completely turned around the Chicago Bulls franchise by leading them to a playoff appearance. By the end of the season the rookie’s clutch performances combined with his gravity-defying highlight reel dunks made him the most exciting player in the game. And he did it wearing this jersey.
The home white square tail mesh jersey has “BULLS” and Jordan’s soon to be famous “23” in red and black applique. The collar and arm openings are trimmed in red, white, and black ribbing and the 1984-85-correct Rawlings label is sewn in the collar with a size “44” stamp. The back has “JORDAN” in red applique letters above his number “23” in red and black applique. The jersey shows moderate game use with light toning to the white mesh and wear on the applique graphics. The Rawlings label shows some puckering in the area where it is sewn to the fabric.
Perhaps the most intriguing of all the interesting elements of this jersey is its origin: unknown. Sometime in 1984 or 1985 a fan got ahold of one of the rookie Jordan’s gamers. Then, for reasons unknown, the jersey wound up in a vintage clothing store where it was miraculously identified and saved from oblivion. The uniform experts at MEARS have done extensive research into this piece, noting that its various details such as the mesh shell, lettering placement and tagging are consistent with Chicago Bulls gamers from 1984-85. MEARS notes that Michael Jordan jerseys from this early period of his career are known to have a custom tapered/tailored tail. When the offered jersey was compared against an exemplar in their collection, this jersey showed such tapering/tailoring. In addition, unique points such as the position of the “BULLS” lettering are consistent with period photos of Jordan in his rookie season. MEARS has graded this Jordan rookie jersey a perfect A10 and their LOA is included with this museum-quality piece.
ESTIMATE $150,000+