The evolution of Air Jordan

Retirement & baseball, how can Jordan retire when his popularity was at its peak. People around the world must be thinking why did he do that? Is it because of his father's death, is it because of the gambling debacle? Who knows. But we killed the goose that laid the golden egg.

Take a close look at the soles of the shoes. The soles contained words in different languages that symbolised Michael Jordan's passion for basketball :

Right shoe:
dédié (french) - "dedicated"
fuerza (spanish) - "force"
intenso (italian) - "intense"
liberté (french) - "freedom"
anmutig (german) - "graceful"

Left shoe:
спорт (russian) - "sport"
uhuru (swahili) - "independence"
свобода (russian) - "freedom"
athletisch (german) - "athletic"
muundaji (swahili) - "hope"

	93 - 94 AIR JORDAN IX Dynamic-Fit inner bootie, "One-pull" lacing system, large volume Air-Sole unit (heel), encapsulated Air-Sole unit (forefoot), polyurethane midsole
	"I'd probably still be playing [baseball] if there hadn't been a baseball strike. It just got to be so political and all I wanted was to play the game. I didn't want to get caught up in making money for the owners, or not making money for the players. Instead of focussing on what I was trying to achieve in baseball, so many problems were revolving around me because of my basketball career. I never wanted to be in that position. Ultimately, I chose to walk away." - MJ in "I'm Back More Rare Air" page 104 ed. 1995. "The Air Jordan IX represented the globalization of the AIR JORDAN brand name. Everybody around the world wanted to be like Mike. Take a close look at the soles of the shoes, we designed the different languages around the world that describes the sporting spirit of Michael Jordan and what he has done for the world sports." - Comments on the released Air Jordan 9 by Tinker Hatfield, designer of Air Jordan 3 to 15, in September 1993

	1993 White-Black-True Red
	Designed for the game’s top-level players. Durabuck and full-grain leather minimalist upper, Dynamic-Fit inner bootie and internal support strapping system for added lightweight stability, one-pull lace system for quick, snug support. Polyurethane midsole with large volume heel and flexible forefoot Air-Sole® units. Solid rubber outsole with supportive multi-outrigger and arch shank.
	2002 Black/Light Olive-True Red

1993 White/Black/Powder Blue


1993 Black-Dark Charcoal-True Red

2002 Retros White/Black-True Red

Head Designer :
Tinker Hatfield

Technical Specs :
Dynamic-Fit inner bootie, "One-pull" lacing system, large volume Air-Sole unit (heel), encapsulated Air-Sole unit (forefoot), polyurethane midsole

Price :
US$125 (in Nov 1993), US$125 (Retro 2002)

Retros :
1993 comes in a black Jumpman Box, brochures about shoes, Flight Club Membership Application and black plastic wrapper

2002 comes in a "Jordan's Face" box, plain paper wrapper and NO retro card.

Colorways & pics (from www.air-jordans.com , www.niketalk.com , www.promo-shoes.com and www.ebay.com )

Original 1993
Nov ?? 1993 White-Black-True Red 130182-100 $125
?? 1993 White-Black-Dark Powder Blue 130182-101 $125
?? 1993 Black-Light Olive-True Red 130182-030 $125
?? 1994 Black-Dark Charcoal-True Red 130182-001 $125

Retro 2002
Jan 12, 2002 White/Black-True Red 302370-101 $125
Mar 9, 2002 Black/Light Olive-True Red 302370-031 $125
?? 2003 Black Baseball Cleats Metal 046900001 $100
?? 2003 Black Baseball Cleats MCS 3/4 046990001 $100

Retro +
May 4, 2002 AIR JORDAN 9 White/French Blue-Flint Grey 302370-041 $125
July 3, 2002 AIR JORDAN 9 Low White/Silver/Chrome/White 303895-111 $115
Sept 21, 2002 AIR JORDAN 9 Low White/Blue Pearl 303895-142 $115
Oct 26, 2002 AIR JORDAN 9 Medium Grey/White-Cool Grey 302370-011 $125
PLAYER EXCLUSIVES

FAKE

Air Jordan I	Air Jordan VIII	Air Jordan XV
Air Jordan II	Air Jordan IX	Air Jordan XVI
Air Jordan III	Air Jordan X	Air Jordan XVII
Air Jordan IV	Air Jordan XI	Air Jordan XVIII
Air Jordan V	Air Jordan XII	Air Jordan XIX
Air Jordan VI	Air Jordan XIII	Air Jordan XX
Air Jordan VII	Air Jordan XIV	Air Jordan XXI