-The Official Sneaker Wiki Thread- (Post interesting facts/backstories/design inspiration)

[the antihype]

The dot/ventilation pattern on the vamp of the AF1 is supposed to resemble a crown, because Nike new they would be the king of sneakers.

MJ wore the air ship in his first few NBA games, because the AJ1 was not quite ready for primetime.

I've absorbed a TON of useless sneaker knowledge throughout the years...been into sneakers ever since the AJ1 '84/'85. Funny though never really was an actual MJ fan, shoes> team/player/person...anybody else feel the same?

 

[steelogreen]

Me personally loved the bulls lol well grow up in a house that did as well.

That nike thing is very vain lol

Mannn I remember going on the jordan site and reading the history of flight thing for each shoe literally everyday lol I should've screenshot the info

 

[af1 1982]

The dot/ventilation pattern on the vamp of the AF1 is supposed to resemble a crown, because Nike new they would be the king of sneakers.

MJ wore the air ship in his first few NBA games, because the AJ1 was not quite ready for primetime.

I've absorbed a TON of useless sneaker knowledge throughout the years...been into sneakers ever since the AJ1 '84/'85. Funny though never really was an actual MJ fan, shoes> team/player/person...anybody else feel the same?

Wow. All these facts I never knew. Especially the crown with the af1

 

[nawghtyhare]

The dot/ventilation pattern on the vamp of the AF1 is supposed to resemble a crown, because Nike new they would be the king of sneakers.

MJ wore the air ship in his first few NBA games, because the AJ1 was not quite ready for primetime.

I've absorbed a TON of useless sneaker knowledge throughout the years...been into sneakers ever since the AJ1 '84/'85. Funny though never really was an actual MJ fan, shoes> team/player/person...anybody else feel the same?

Never knew that about the af1
Had me pull out a pair to check

 

[steelogreen]

This thread is like passing out reps lol

 

[af1 1982]

This thread is like passing out reps lol

I usually hate people who only post for reps. But I believe this is what the intended purpose of the rep system was built for. Information and knowledge. I love this man, can't wait until it takes off

 

[zapatohead408]

The AJKO did not only release in Japan. They were just incredibly rare even back then. It was essentially a shoe making it out of the design kitchen.

Around 84-85 there were a lot of shoes which used the template and inspiration of the 1.

 

[af1 1982]

So could you consider the AJKO a true Air Jordan? Or is it another shoe that drew design cues from the AJ1

 

[steelogreen]

Some people consider it an "Og" thing so i don't see why it wouldn't be considered a true air jordan. Especially since some fusions make that list lol

 

[nawghtyhare]

The dot/ventilation pattern on the vamp of the AF1 is supposed to resemble a crown, because Nike new they would be the king of sneakers.

MJ wore the air ship in his first few NBA games, because the AJ1 was not quite ready for primetime.

I've absorbed a TON of useless sneaker knowledge throughout the years...been into sneakers ever since the AJ1 '84/'85. Funny though never really was an actual MJ fan, shoes> team/player/person...anybody else feel the same?

The AJKO did not only release in Japan. They were just incredibly rare even back then. It was essentially a shoe making it out of the design kitchen.

Around 84-85 there were a lot of shoes which used the template and inspiration of the 1.

Technically the shoes drew inspiration from the dunks

 

[geraldg2309]

Wow, I love this thread.

 

[zapatohead408]

The AJKO from 1985 is in fact an Original Air Jordan 1. Only difference is the change in material.


I don't have any pics of it but there were Air Jordan 1's with the sole of an Air Jordan 2. That's what I'm talking about when I say variations.

Or also the baby Jordans that had a different name. Looked just like the Air Jordan 1 with a little twist.

 

[steelogreen]

The baby Jordan's were called flight something or something flight...

And that's why I love dunks. They really are the blueprint behind a lot of basketball shoes but just don't get the credit and their themes are second to none

 

[nawghtyhare]

The baby Jordan's were called flight something or something flight...

And that's why I love dunks. They really are the blueprint behind a lot of basketball shoes but just don't get the credit and their themes are second to none

2nd only to the Air Force ONE

 

[steelogreen]

View media item 717286[emoji]128064[/emoji]

 

[YOUR GRACE]

lots of good info here

 

[hadowajp]

P4l

 

[celticspride34]

The baby Jordan's were called flight something or something flight...

And that's why I love dunks. They really are the blueprint behind a lot of basketball shoes but just don't get the credit and their themes are second to none

They were called Sky Jordan's

MJ was going to no-show his meeting with Nike when they were going to show him the 3's and went to play golf... His Dad had to call him and convince him to go to the meeting...

The 7 was the first Air Jordan to not say Nike Air anywhere on the outside of the sneaker...

The 2 was the first Nike shoe ever to not feature a swoosh...

The MJ statue in Chicago has him wearing 9's... He never wore 9's for the Bulls...

Scored 47 in a pair of OG 1's at MSG in'98...

I think I'm a shoe nerd... Also, the 19's are the most comfy shoes I've ever owned....

 

[geraldg2309]

@CelticsPride34  Hey fam, don't know if this is common knowledge or not so please excuse me but why is he wearing the 9s for the statue in Chicago?

 

[secretzofwar]

@CelticsPride34
 Hey fam, don't know if this is common knowledge or not so please excuse me but why is he wearing the 9s for the statue in Chicago?

I'm pretty sure it was the newest Jordan at the time the statue was erected.

For some younger folks...

A big inspiration behind the Air Zoom Generation was the Hummer H2 Bron's mom picked up with a "loan."

Several of the "china" color ways in the Lebron line were made to pander to the coveted Chinese consumer. Terra Cotta Warriors are the latest example, but they've done it relentlessly since the II.

Aside from the first games, the reaction to the first 6 LeBron shoes was very very lackluster.

 

[celticspride34]

IDK lol... I just know that random fact...

I beleive the Mocha 3's were the very first Retro+...

Nike had to redesign the back of Dennis Rodman's because people somehow read "Allah" in the design...

Nike SB was going to release a Black/Purple "Heaven's Gate" Dunk before people freaked out about it... I wanted them....

Paul Pierce had 5 Nike sigs, all released only in kid's sizes...

Kicksology and Prof K used to be the ****...

 

[Beans]

I believe the Allah shoes were the air bakins.. Which don't remember rodman wearing. Tim hardaway wore them.

The nike swoosh was actually designed by a Portland state university student and was purchased for $35

 

[bip roberts]

bip roberts
@Stuntman Mike
Or is it @Stuntman Mike82
Can y'all come through with some af1 info to post
Like how store owners I THINK in bmore or was it philly???? convinced Nike to retro the af1

The owners of 3 stores in Baltimore joined forces to get Nike to remake AF1s. The 3 stores were Cinderalla Shoes, Mr. Shoe, and the Original Downtown Locker Room. They had meetings with Nike and requested that they remake the AF1. Nike complied under the condition that each store take 1200 pairs of each color they make. They started with 2 pairs (white/royal, white/chocolate) and they sold well. From then on, they released a shoe a month at those three stores.

I thought the reason was copyright issues
Cause of the shoe and Freddy's sweater

So, this is something of a topic of debate, but IMO (and that of many others) almost all the Freddys that you see (even those in the hands of famed collectors) are fake. Many people feel that all non-size 9s are fake. There are only a handful of fully confirmed authentic pairs and they were pretty much all made available at Rif LA. ...Even very knowledgeable SB heads often disagree about the extent of legit Freddys.

This is correct the AJ1 and AJ4 I believe were one of the first retroes but when that happened they didn't sell as good as their initial run.

The 1, 2, and 3 released in 1994. The 4 didn't come back until '99

From memory aj1's weren't really a success
But damn I wish more peeps posted right now
My memory of some info is cloudy
There's a lot of knowledgable people on this board
Would be a good chance to educate the new people who we criticize don't know anything about shoes

Do you mean the original release, or the first retro?

The original release was okay - standards for success were very different at the time.

The first retro was an unmitigated failure. I picked up pairs of the 94 1, 2, and 3 retros 18 months after release at prices as low as 29.99. They'd just be stacked up on the floor at some stores with signs - 29.99. They couldn't give those things away.

Technically the shoes drew inspiration from the dunks

There are a lot of shoes that were part of the inspiration for the AJ1s.

The Nike "Chicago" the "Dynasty" and a number of others. The AJ1 is the only shoe with a history as rich as the AF1 and it has the most interesting and extensive sample history of any shoe. There are nearly endless permutations of different soles (including Dunk soles) and minor variations of the logo.

In addition to the KOs, there are also the Sky Highs, on which Nike first experimented with the placement of the Jumpman logo on a shoe.

This thread has a lot of good info on the history of the AJ1 and tons of pics - http://niketalk.com/t/4602/ajkos-and-og-1s-whos-got-the-rarest-ones

IDK lol... I just know that random fact...

Nike had to redesign the back of Dennis Rodman's because people somehow read "Allah" in the design...

..

Those were the Air Bakins. They were worn by Tim Hardaway, not Rodman. The logo on the back featured "Air" in a sort of flame type treatment, but the manipulation of the word in design resembled the Arabic word for God. That was the controversy. Nike eventually ceased producing them. Obviously, the retros were released with a standard Nike Air on the back.

 

[bip roberts]

I believe the Allah shoes were the air bakins.. Which don't remember rodman wearing. Tim hardaway wore them.

The nike swoosh was actually designed by a Portland state university student and was purchased for $35

Beat me to it.


And, I was just going to mention something about the swoosh as well.


People reading this thread looking to learn more, should really read "Swoosh: The Unauthorized History of Nike" by Rob Strasser. There's a lot of good history in there about the start up of the brand. The birth of the brand is really interesting. There's lots of stuff about Bill Bowerman, Steve Profontaine, the Olympic sponsorship and advertising wars, how they essentially convinced (and bribed) Bo Jackson to play football, the launch of the Jordan line.... Lots of really good stuff in there.

Amazon product ASIN 0887306225

 

[af1 1982]

BIP, would you be able to chime in on the AJKO question?

Also, here's another. What was the first SB dunk collab? Why did they start doing this collab/theme thing as well