To this day, Nike’s release of new Air Jordan sneakers creates the largest buzz and consumer craze in the shoe industry. It all started with the original Air Jordan 1 “OG” Red/Black colorways released to the public in 1985. Due to a ridiculous rule imposed by then-Commissioner David Stern, these groundbreaking basketball shoes were banned for use in NBA games because they did not have enough white in their initial design. Jordan wore them anyways beginning in January ’85 of his rookie season and was fined $5,000 each game he stepped on the court in them. Nike gladly paid the fine and used the publicity as a strategic marketing ploy to capitalize on the outlaw branding of their wildly popular creation. Shortly thereafter, Nike produced an AJ-1 red/black/white OG colorway with enough white that Jordan could wear them without getting fined.
Featured here is a spectacular pair of the original, original Air Jordan 1’s that began Nike’s sneaker revolution. Better yet, each shoe is perfectly autographed by His Airness in bold black marker on the outer heels. Ideally, these would have come right off Jordan’s foot after a game in ‘85. In reality, they are size 15’s (MJ’s size was 13 or 13.5) that belonged to former Pitt college basketball star (19and 10-year NFL player, Sam Clancy. At some point, the former Seahawks/Browns/Colts defensive end got MJ to sign his shoes, which display moderate wear and have been preserved quite well. The Nike swoosh comes in red and the early Air Jordan wings logo on the outer ankles are stamped black. The red laces are not the originals. The Nike Air tag inside each tongue gives company trademark info in English and French, with a “Made in Rep. of Korea” flag tag. The original white insoles stamped with “Nike Air” in red are present. The inner ankles are each stamped "15 850608 TY1” to denote the size and manufacturing date of June to August of 1985. The toes and front body of each shoe remain in exceptional shape. The high-ankle support sections do show some wear-and-tear and aging, which is common since the material Nike initially used for cushioning lacked durability. The rubber soles, so often an issue with early Air Jordans, are perfectly intact with absolutely no sign of deterioration.
Considering the recent jump in prices for examples of Mike’s rookie game-worn Air Jordan 1’s (one selling for $560,000 in May and another going for $360,000 in July), this exquisite MJ signed pair of the controversial 1985 red/black OG’s so coveted by "Sneakerheads" worldwide will certainly be in high demand. The exceptional quality of Jordan’s autographs – each graded by PSA/DNA (Mint 9 and NM-MT 8) – combined with their fantastic, problem-free condition puts these sneakers in an exclusive category for basketball collectors. Includes a letter of provenance from Sam Clancy’s son (Sam Clancy, Jr.), a pro basketball player and former Pac-10 Player of the Year at USC. Full LOA’s from PSA/DNA for each shoe.