March 12--A pair of pre-Air Jordan Nike shoes that Michael Jordan wore during his rookie season could fetch $50,000 or more when they go up for bid next month, according to the auction house.
SCP Auctions acquired the shoes from a former Los Angeles Lakers ball boy, who got them from the Bulls legend after a game at the Forum on Dec. 2, 1984.
"We're thrilled to have it," said Dan Imler, vice president of SCP Auctions. "Anything significant from Jordan's career is gold in our field. In our business, collectors are drawn items that are very early in a player's career."
SCP will host the auction online from April 8-25.
Former ball boy Khalid Ali, then 15, approached Jordan during pre-game warmups and asked him for his shoes, a pair of red-black-and-white Nike sneakers, which Jordan was breaking in, according to a statement from SCP. Jordan took that pair to the locker room and brought back the shoes that are now up for auction, a simple set of white Nikes with the iconic red swoosh. The auctioneers estimate that these were some of the last regular Nikes that Jordan wore before switching to Air Jordans full time.
Jordan scored 20 points during the game and the Bulls won, 113-112. Afterward, he signed each shoe and gave them to Ali, who kept them in his or his mother's closet for more than 30 years before contacting the auction house.
Jordan gave them to him right after game," Imler said. "It's anyone's guess how many times he wore them before that. They're pretty well broken in."
Imler explained the measures the auctioneers took to authenticate the items, which included confirming with the Lakers that Ali worked as a ball boy at the time and searching for a photo of Jordan wearing the shoes during the game. They couldn't find an image from that date, but they found one of him wearing the same style of shoes on Nov. 23 against the Seattle SuperSonics. Officials also verified the signatures on the shoes matched Jordan's handwriting style from that period. "Does the item match the story? In this case everything lines up perfectly," Imler said.
The pre-Air Jordan Nikes are expected to go for at least $50,000, he said. Jordan's shoes from the "flu game" -- Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz -- fetched $105,000 more than a year ago.
SCP Auctions recently sold another Chicago sports icon's memorabilia for an even higher price. A Cubs home jersey worn by Ernie Banks in 1969 -- one of only three game-worn Banks jerseys known to be in existence -- went for $161,000 on Dec. 7.
plthompson@chicagotribune.com
