Western
Australia Michael Jordan Society presentation
Western
Australia Michael Jordan Society presentation
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1987-88 Master Lock Defensive Player
of the Year. This is the season
MJ won all the personal accolades an NBA player could possibly win.
He was the Gatorade Slam Dunk Champ, All-Star MVP, Maurice Podoloff
NBA MVP and the 1987-88 Scoring Champion. No other player in NBA history
won both MVP and Defensive Player awards in the same season. And he did this while wearing the Air Jordan 3 "designed" by Tinker Hatfield. They were Tinker's first Air Jordans in what is to be many. Tough to find the originals these days. Peter Moore, Nike's head designer, originally did the preliminary design work on the AJ 3. He had a pile of sketches of the Air Jordan 3 but waited until it was too late to execute. When he left, Tinker got the sketches and in amongst it were the outline of the Air Jordan Jumpman logo. Back in 1988, MJ's contract with Nike was about to finish. Rob Strasser Nike's VP was in a power struggle with Phil Knight, Nike's CEO. Rob and Peter were secretly hatching a plan to lure Jordan away from Nike to their new sneaker company called Van Grack (Driven from Within, pg 89). Since 1985, Nike sales have jumped through the roof and Phil Knight (Nike's CEO) was not about to lose Jordan that easily. He gave Tinker the task of presenting the next AJ 3 to Michael. Both Tinker and Ron Dumas designed the entire AJ 3 line in a matter of a few weeks.
Designed to be more of a mid-top (3/4 cut) instead of a low-top. The air unit is now visible through a sidehole in the shoes, a real gimmick back then to be able to see the much vaunted Air Sole cushioning system. The JUMPMAN logo replaces the OLD AIR JORDAN logo. The unique elephant print trim around the shoe sets it apart from the others eg. Converse and Adidas. Tumbled leather uppers give the uppers a soft luxurious look. A very solid looking pair of shoes in real-life, just like the man... Spike Lee's MARS BLACKMON ads for Jordan 3's were funny and out-of-this world. Combined with Jordan's stellar on-court performance in the NBA, it made both Jordan and Air Jordan's very famous in the USA and Japan consumer markets. The AJ 3 had the three plastic lace loops which also featured in other Nikes such as the Nike Air Delta Force and Nike Air Force II that were released earlier in 1987 when Jordan was injured. The "elephant print" around the toebox and heel counter was something unusual for the AJ 3. So is the outsole design. It was cutting-edge and modern back in 88. Sharp angles, clean lines and with plenty of consideration towards performance and grip. Back in those days, people would freak out paying $100 for sneakers. AJ 3 turned that preconception around and made paying triple figures for sneakers a viable proposition. One thing is for sure, I wouldn't wanna be walking around the "projects/ghettos" or downtown with these back in the 80's because one would get mugged or killed by drug-crazed gangsta' hoods. Suffice to say, AJ 3 were hot back then and they are still hot now... Source : "Driven from Within", Michael Jordan, Rare Air Media, Simon & Schuster, First edition 2005, pg. 83 |
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 "He borders on being too good, and by that I mean he's causing a lot of things that have always been taught in basketball, particularly relating to the team concept, to be reevaluated. I'm questioning these things myself, and I've been coaching for 40 years" - John Bach Chicago Bulls Assistant Coach |
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| 2001 Retro Black/Cement Grey | ||||
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ABOVE
: The shoe tag is painted on!!?!
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 Head Designer : Tinker Hatfield Technical Specs : Nike Visible Air-sole unit, plastic lace holes, solid rubber outsole, polyurethane mid-sole, elephant skin design and Jumpman logo Price : US$100 (in Feb 1988), US$105 (1994 retros) Packaging : 1988 originals come in a black box with elephant print at the bottom. The tissue is special elephant print. Booklet and a pair of "Anatomical Arch Support". 1994 comes in a colourful box, special tissue paper, and postcard. 2001 retros come in a Jordan face box with plain paper wrap. Colorways & pics (from www.air-jordans.com, www.niketalk.com, www.promo-shoes.com and www.ebay.com) Original 1988 White/Cement Grey 4365 Black/Cement Grey 4366 White/Fire Red 4367 White/Cement Grey-True Blue 4368 CATALOG BOX Retro 1994 White/Cement Grey 130203-101 Black/Cement Grey 130203-001 Re-Retro 2001 (shoe tag painted on) July 14, 2001 AIR JORDAN 3 Black/Cement Grey 136064-001 $100 Re-Retro + (Jumpman at the heel counter & JORDAN on the sole) Sept 15, 2001 AIR JORDAN 3 White/Dark Mocha 136064-121 $100 Nov 17, 2001 AIR JORDAN 3 White/True Blue 136046-141 $100 Apr 19, 2003 AIR JORDAN 3 White/Cement Grey-Fire Red 136046-102 $100 FAKE Melo M3 Nov 24, 2006 Jordan Melo M3 Silver/University Blue-White 314302-041 $115.00 Nov 24, 2006 Jordan Melo M3 White/University Blue-Metallic Silver-Taxi 314302-141 $115.00 Dec 26, 2006 Jordan Melo M3 Black/University Blue-Taxi 314302-042 $115 Feb 17, 2007 Jordan Melo M3 ASG True White/Midnight Navy-Varsity Red 314302-061 $180 Mar 10, 2007 Jordan Melo M3 White/Metallic Silver-Taxi 314302-101 $115 Retro + 2007 (Jumpman at the heel counter & JORDAN on the sole) Feb 24, 2007 AIR JORDAN 3 Retro LS Silver/Sport Red/Light Graphite-Orange Peel 315297-062 $135.00 Mar 24, 2007 AIR JORDAN 3 Retro Flip White/Varsity Red-Chrome-Black 315767-101 $150.00 Mar 24, 2007 Women's AIR JORDAN 3 Retro White/Harbor Blue-Baby Blue 315296-142 $125 Mar 24, 2007 AIR JORDAN 3 Retro White/Black-Fire Red 136064-161 $125.00 Apr 14, 2007 AIR JORDAN Retro 3 LS Brisk Blue/Pro Gold-Radient Green 315297-471 $135 May 19, 2007 AIR JORDAN 3 Retro White/Metallic Silver 136064-103 $125 |
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