For more than five decades, the shoe to wear on the basketball court was the Converse All-Stars. Endorsed by 1920s hoops star Chuck Taylor, these iconic sneakers had become dated by the 1970s. Stars such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Walt Frazier, Pete Maravich, and of course, Julius Erving, AKA Dr. J., had completely changed the way the game was played back in Chuck Taylors day. To reflect advancements in sneaker technology and pay tribute to the new stars of the game, Converse developed their Pro Leather model in the mid 1970s. To promote their revolutionary sneaker, Converse looked to the games brightest star of the time, Dr. J. Dating to 1975-1977, one of the earliest pairs that exist for Erving, as Mears states the stamping on this pair is very rough and possibly done very early in the process of identifying shoes for Erving. This pristine pair of Leather Pros were made specifically for Dr. J to wear on the court. Each one bears the custom DR J stamping in red to match the red leather Converse logo. Game worn by the Doctor, these sneakers show light wear, with toning from age and wear scuffs on the underside of the rubber soles. There is some very light wear on the upper leather surface. For being game worn and over 45 years old, these sneaks are, as the title suggests, pristine. Dr. J has signed the outside of the right sneaker in crisp black marker, making this a museum-ready piece of NBA and sneaker history. These sneakers come with COAs from MEARS and Tri-Star.