This extraordinary lot marks the beginning of two basketball legacies: a supremely talented uber-competitive player from North Carolina and the iconic shoe line that he inspired. Today their legends continue to live on grow and thrive. The demise of their relevance to sports history and American pop culture is nowhere in sight. A man every athlete at the pinnacle of their sport looks up to and a rather simplistic yet masterful design of leather and rubber that remains untouchable in the hearts of sneakerheads everywhere. Heres your chance to bid on an exceptional game-worn pair of original Air Jordan I shoes from Michael Jordans 1984-85 rookie season with the Chicago Bulls. In fact these are documented to the exact game he wore them: a 110-107 loss to the Indiana Pacers at Market Square Arena on January 19 1985. MJ dropped 37 points with 12 rebounds and 7 assists one of his best all-around performances to that point in his rookie year. Following the game Jordan made true on his promise and gave the shoes to a young Pacers ball boy who has decided to part with them after almost 31 years.

Michael Jordan was drafted 3rd overall in 1984 and made an immediate splash in his first season. An All-Star and Rookie of the Year he led the Bulls to the playoffs for the first time in five years. His rookie averages were astounding: 28.2 points 6.5 rebounds 5.9 assists and over 50% from the field. Nikes release of new Air Jordan model sneakers each year creates the largest buzz and consumer craze in the shoe industry. And it all started with the original Air Jordan I which came out in early 1985. His Airness began wearing this red black and white AJ-I colorway during games in January of 85; prior to that in November and December of 84 he would only warm up in them. The rest as they say is history.

These Air Jordan Is exhibit solid wear and have aged quite a bit. The Nike swoosh and early Wings logo appear on the outside of each ankle in black. The original white laces are intact. (Photos show that MJ wore both white and black laces with his AJ-Is.) The Nike Air tag on each tongue provides company trademark info in English and French with a Made in Korea flag tag. A key Jordan trait is the mismatched sizes. The left shoe is stamped 13 while the right is 13 ½the latter size not available for public consumption. The red white and black leather body shows scuffing and color fading. The rubber outsoles show heavy tread and the insole liners have severe sweat staining. The interior padding around the ankle has started to crumple a bit internally but there are no holes or openings that have allowed this material to spill out. The ex-Pacers ball boy has written 1-19-85 in blue ballpoint on the outer midsole of the right shoe to document the game MJ wore them. It should be noted that he admits to wearing these shoes a few times after he acquired them apparently hoping to improve his vertical. The shoes still present amazingly well and come essentially as-issued and problem free without any significant damage or degradation common in vintage sneakers.

Includes a Letter of Provenance from the original owner a former Indiana Pacers ball boy. This documentation includes a copy of a letter from David Craig the Pacers former Athletic Trainer for 35 years.