GFC: 1984 Michael Jordan's "first" jersey

[both-teams-played-hard]

very interesting dave. he's wearing his knee brace. and more interesting is that he's wearing the rare red/black air jordans instead of the red/white/black ones. the ones warren said he had never seen him wear in a game, except for the all-star game. the bulls DID have an exhibition game against the knicks in glen falls. the knicks would've worn their home jerseys in that game. now listen..the FIRST time the bulls played the knicks in NY in the regular season was on nov 8. now, that pic can't be from nov 8 because the FIRST time jordan debuted the air jordans in the regular season was on nov 17. the next time the bulls were in NY was on jan 5 and lastly on mar 14. dave do you have any sort of date on that picture? if it's prior to jan 5 then it must be the exhibition game in glen falls.

rudy.

Yes, great photo. Those obviously are the red and black shoes that were banned by the NBA. But, they are NOT the Air Jordan I model. I'll get back with the correct model name.

[kingjammy24]

here's jordan on nov 8, against the knicks, regular season:



fyi, he wore all-white nikes. not air jordans.

rudy.

[kingjammy24]

pat cummings played in the exhibition game.

rudy.

[otismalibu]

Good job finding more photos, but one would need a pretty decent quality photo to match the jerseys. I'm not talking style matching the number font...but rather the evidence of the name & number change.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say more than a few Jordan 'gamers' have been built after the fact.

[kingjammy24]

GFC jordan on the left, GUF pics on the right. what you're looking
for is the previous number remnant on the right side of the "2" and
on the upper left side of the "3". photomatch?



i think dave o'brien's pic is a match. the way the remnant veers
to the left.

rudy.

[both-teams-played-hard]

Please watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83jKvj5wXxE

I still would like to see a photo of MJ wearing the black and red AJ 1s in a game.
My sources tell me the black and red Air Jordan 1 was never banned (marketing ploy by NIKE). The sneakers in the photo that Dave posted were banned (still don't know the model name.) That's the shoe that was referenced in the old Sports Illustrated article.

[rareair23.com]

Here is a picture of Jordan in a game against the Knicks that shows a similar font Any thoughts? :

Dave

That's the preseason game against the Knicks I presume....that's the image I was talking about, those are the actual shoes that got banned..black/red ships

[aeneas01]

That's the preseason game against the Knicks I presume....that's the image I was talking about, those are the actual shoes that got banned..black/red ships

great thread! from what i can tell the shirt looks pretty darn good - in fact if i were grey flannel i would change the wording in title description from "possible first jersey ever issued to jordan" to "possible first nba jersey ever worn by jordan". btw i found the preseason/value vs season/value debate interesting although, i have to say, i would think the first nba shirt jordan ever sweated in would be pretty damn valuable, preseason or not - but, hey, that's just me.

here are some newspaper/magazine photos from jordan's rookie year that i dug up and i think at least one or two confirm that jordan sported the gfc style shirt during the regular season (game 16 @ warriors (maybe), game 25 @ nets (probably), game 39 @ nets (maybe)) - i've also included other photos that might help with the raging sneaker debate.

for the record, given the 1984 style match that had already been provided in the lot description, i don't think gfc's "possibility" claim was an unfair or misleading estimation - in fact i think gfc would have severely shortchanged the consignor had they failed to mention this possibilty.

anyway, if jordan wore the gfc style during the regular season, which i believe the game 25 @ nets photo confirms, then it would seem that it could certainly be the very first pro jersey jordan ever wore. and it would strike me as much more valuable than his first "regular season" shirt. jmo.


game 1 - 10/26/84 bullets



game 1 - 10/26/84 bullets



game 3 - 10/29/84 bucks:



game 3 - 10/29/84 bucks:



game 7 - 11/08/4 knicks:



game 16 - 11/27/84 warriors:



game 19 - 12/02/84 lakers:



game 21 -12/07/84 knicks:



game 25 - 12/14/84 nets:



game 31 - 01/02/85 hawks:



game 35 - 01/09/85 celtics:



game 36 - 01/11/85 knicks:



game 37 - 01/12/85 cavs:



game 39 - 01/16/85 nets:



game 52 - 02/17/85 bucks:



game 70 - 03/20/85 spurs:



game 80 - 04/08/85 pacers:



game 81 - 04/12/85 hawks:



...

[TriplexXxSports]

GFC jordan on the left, GUF pics on the right. what you're looking
for is the previous number remnant on the right side of the "2" and
on the upper left side of the "3". photomatch?



i think dave o'brien's pic is a match. the way the remnant veers
to the left.

rudy.

Rudy,

You are definitely on to something. If you focus close on the larger of the 2 black & white pics, you can make out the the angle at which the pre-existing 3 cuts back into the #2 (if that makes sense). Also, I have to agree that it appears that on the inside loop of the pre-existing 3, the angle does appear to lean in on that same pic.

It is tough to tell if the above mentioned angle of the 3 cuts back towards the 2 on the smaller of the black & white photos. The angle of that shot doesn't help, but there is definitely something there.

I cannot tell, or see, anything too concrete on the color photos. The bottom right is too bright and blurry to see anything. The top right color photo seems to show a 'shadow', which you highlighted, but b/c of the quality, and angle of the shot, it is extremely hard to see any definite angles of a pre-existing 5. That is a tough call b/c across from that 'shadow' there is no signs of the pre-existing 3 on the #2, like in the other pic.

Without a doubt this is the best evidence yet as to the mystery of this jersey. Maybe some more pics of that game exist and they will pop up soon.

Outstanding job to both of you for finding that pic, and making the comparison.

[kingjammy24]

here are some newspaper/magazine photos from jordan's rookie year that i dug up and i think at least one or two confirm that jordan sported the gfc style shirt during the regular season (game 16 @ warriors (maybe), game 25 @ nets (probably), game 39 @ nets (maybe))

here are the 3 games you quoted:



personally, i'm not seeing any matches to the GFC font. i'm not looking at the black of the numbers, but at the white and presence/absence of red in the upper/inside area of the "2" and inside the "3". i'd say the third pic is definitely not a match. the first pic doesn't appear to match. the second pic is inconclusive. i don't believe or see how it "confirms" it.

rudy.