I know what you’re thinking, “Why is Barn Finds featuring a sneaker auction?” Well, hear us out. Most of us are collectors, right? Automobiles, parts, license plates, beer caps, dive bar t-shirts…Whatever it is, you like your collection and love adding to it, right? Well, the sneaker collector market has sky-rocketed over the past few years. My generation now has money to spend whether that’s spending thousands on the dream car of their youth or the dream sneakers of their youth, they are doing it. From July 30th to August 13th, the famed auction house Christie’s along with Stadium Goods is hosting an auction titled: Original Air: Michael Jordan Game-Worn and Player Exclusive Sneaker Rarities. You can read more about the auction here on yahoo! finance.com or here on Christie’s.com. Let’s take a closer look at some of these shoes. You won’t believe the estimated sale prices!
Jordan wore the Nike Air Ship early in his rookie season. Jordan’s version of the Air Ships was specifically designed for him and had the designation “Air Jordan 1 TYPS MJ PE” which stood for Tong Yang Player Sample Michael Jordan Player Exclusive. The pair being auctioned is a rare game-worn pair that were sourced from a New Jersey Nets equipment manager. The estimated selling price…$350,000 to $550,000!
The 1992 Men’s Olympic basketball team was arguably the greatest collection of players ever assembled. Nicknamed “The Dream Team” it included: Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, Magic Johnson, Christian Laettner, Karl Malone, Chris Mullin, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, John Stockton and of course Michael Jordan. This pair of shoes was worn by Jordan during the gold medal game against Croatia on August 8, 1992. They have been photo matched and verified. Apparently they were given to a Barcelona hotel receptionist as a show of gratitude for running errands! They are estimated to sell between $50,000 and $70,000!
With the recent airing of the ESPN documentary “The Last Dance,” it’s no surprise that a pair of shoes from that era made it into the auction. They are a pair of MJ-coded “Chicago” Jordan 14 and were worn by Jordan during practice between games of the 1998 NBA finals. They are estimated to sell between $6,000 and $8,000.
There’s no denying the impact that Michael Jordan had on basketball and world culture. His brand is as popular as ever and shows no sign of slowing down. The proceeds for this auction are going to charity and hopefully, they see some strong bidding. What do you think about shoe collections? Are they a good investment or would you rather put your money somewhere else?
Hmm. Can I put my underwear on a BF auction?
Not a sustainer
Remember the GoGos singing “Skidmarks on My Heart”? An automotive gem of a song if I ever heard one. Kind of the anti “Little GTO” song.
get ahold of that turkey chumway on pawn stars he go nut for stuff like this , me I could care less who owned them,same with cars owned by famous people! your are 40 miles from nowhere it breaks down , so whats that going to do for you beside nothing!
At least the “skidmarks” is car-related. Couldn’t care less who wore these shoes. $350-550k is absolutely ridiculous! Don’t need the skid mark underwear either…I can make my own!!🤣
Is a sustainer a type of underwear or a marital aid or what, exactly?
Put me in the group that could care less about those.
Now if was one of Mike Joy’s MGs,well……
A Gurney-Weslake Eagle driven by Dan himself is more appealing. Granted MIchael Jordan is the best of all time, but something like a championship ring would be better than some old sneakers.
Nah, I would rather have a slant six Duster with a three speed. Decades old foot odor I can live with out. Years from now people will wonder why in our times with so much need in the world, people with copious amounts of disposable income didn’t use it for better purpose.
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, “Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me.” – followed by a cogent if disillusioned paragraph explaining the thought.
Hemingway, in a fit of professional jealousy, lampooned Fitzgerald later on, totally missing the point of the passage.
The truly great writers – they are different from you and me.
There is nothing wrong with a occasional item of automotive memorabilia. There are more than a few cool items floating around sites like eBay. People on this site might be interested in vintage T-shirts, posters, decals, license plate frames, signs, advertising, trophies and such. As cars get more expensive and harder to find many people have shifted to “garage art”. Some is expensive, much isn’t. Like with anything featured in this site, the people that find it interesting will click on it, those that don’t should just skip it and wait for something they like.
Steve R
Hmm pulled an all nighter last night and still hung over this morning Montana? Maybe got some bad liquor that caused you to post some stinky old sneakers??
LOL! Variety is the spice of life, and we have it here at BF. Keep it all coming.
Good luck with the hangover.
Cheers
GPC
I had a small collection of Jordan sneakers about ten years ago. Worth hundreds and not thousands like the featured shoes here. It was a token from my youth that I could actually afford to collect. A lot goes into properly
Storing the shoes to protect them
from breaking down over time, much like a vintage car. I appreciate the writer for trying to stray from the norm here and as always nobody is being forced to click and read something they are not interested in.
Celebrity worship……kinda sad.
Not going to complain about non car related stuff on a car website. It’s a nice little tidbit of info to learn about before moving onto the next barn find.
Stinkfoot! Here is an opportunity to cultivate any athletes foot found within into a thriving Celebrity Fungus Product Line. In fact you might be able to develop enough of it create a sentient being and help it file a lawsuit for support against the celebrity for failure to support. It’s just a bottom feeding sort of thought. I do not personally endorse such an endeavor and you would be on your own if you should pursue such a course of action. It’s really up to you and you certainly have the personal liberty to do so.
The factory workers in China, Vietnam and Indonesia must get a warm, proud feeling when they read about the fruits of their labor being held in such high regard.
Yeah…No!
Keep putting stuff like this on here, and I’ll go find another site that cares more about old cars than this one. What is the matter with you? If I want Ebay or a garage sale, I will go there.
Who would want anyone’s used sneakers , GROSS
My I can put my shower drain hair on Barn Finds
the auction estimate is 350-500,,,,,,thousand .wow
Go troll the political sites, not here.
What’s next? Joe Montana sweat towel? Would rather see their autos on here than trinket treasures
If someone out there is interested in this, and they have the time, and or money go for it,just remember be ,careful, and get some type, and or style of pretty good documentation, and we’ll as a autographed pair, if possible, try to locate the rookie season game card,if possible also, and try to get this pretty reasonable, and take it to Chumly on pawnstars,and have it valued, and or appraised, and try to sell it for a profit,maybe.
Oh yes, Chumly, one of the great intellects of our time. Remember when the History Channel actually showed us history? That is why I dumped my cable TV years ago. Got tired of crummy shows and more and more advertising.
Lame. And definitely doesn’t belong here. Yard sale for those with more money than brains, maybe. Can you find some of MJ’s fingernail clippings? Now that would be an auction!
Not.
Guarantee me that I can play like MJ when I wear them and I’ll buy them
I’d much rather have the POS taxicab or bus Michael Jordan rode in than his damn shoes. What will you do with these? I wouldn’t have enough time (or the money) to invite every male friend to my house with a couple guests to make it worth my while to display old sneakers in a hermetically sealed case. My friends visit one or two at a time, usually to kick tires or turn a wrench on a nice summer afternoon. The way we elevate star athletes shows how far off we are from honoring REAL heroes. While I know most professional and amateur athletes are driven, disciplined and all — give me a piece of machinery I can use while I restore it. And maybe make a little profit to purchase my next project if or when I do sell it.
NOT!!
Stinky old tennis shoes??
More money than BRAINS!