Jordan 1 Description

1985 was a great year, not only because Michael Jordan was rookie of the year and played in the All-Star game, but because the Air Jordan 1's were released. MJ With Air Jordan IThe Air Jordan I was the first shoe to be worn in the NBA with multiple colors. Peter Moore was the man behind the Air Jordan 1 (and also helped design the Air Jordan II). When Michael Jordan first looked at the AJ I, his response was "I'm not wearing that shoe. I'll look like a clown". With time, the shoe slowly grew on him.

Nike loved this idea so much that they encouraged MJ to wear the shoes, and Nike would pay the fees. In result, Nike gave the the Air Jordan 1 "The shoe banned by the NBA" label. There was 23 different color variations released, and this is not including the three colorways of the Air Jordan I KO. Each AJ I shoe came with two sets of laces which matched the color combo.

The White/Black-Red and Black/Red Air Jordan 1's were released as "retros" in 1994 right after Jordan announced his retirement and sold VERY poorly. So badly that many pairs hit clearance centers for $19.99 or less (today a brand new pair of these is worth $500+).

In 2001, Nike tried a second round with retroing and the Air Jordan 1 was much more successful. The Air Jordan 1 was retroed in 14 total colorways from 2001-2003.

The Air Jordan 1 is a legendary shoe and is the holy grail of most sneaker collectors because of its history and since it was the first Jordan shoe launched.