The
1981-82 NCAA basketball season was a memorable one for sure. The young
up-and-comer Michael Jordan guided the UNC Tar Heels to their second NCAA
national championship by hitting a game winning shot and sealing a 63–62
victory over the Georgetown Hoyas at the Superdome in New Orleans. Worn
during Michael Jordan's Freshman campaign in 1981-82, these signed and game
worn Converse sneakers are simply remarkable. Hobby fresh and from an
extraordinary private collection, these beauties were purchased from a charity
auction as a pair of game worn sneakers in the late 1980s along with a 1982 UNC
Tar Heels team signed basketball; also available in the current Lelands
Auction. All original White and Carolina Blue Converse are sizes
12.5/12.5M (Jordan was known for wearing two different sized shoes) and show
nice use with typical scuffs, a few loose threads and wear noticed on the
soles. Each shoe has Jordan's number "23" underneath the tongue
and you will notice that the two Converse tags on the tongues are not
identical. Since Jordan was known for wearing two different sized shoes,
we can assume that MJ wore these sneakers at the same time. If he did not
wear them both at the same time, they were still both worn by MJ at some point
during the 1981-1982 season. In any case, we can still consider this to
be a pair since there is a left shoe and right shoe. Highlighted by
period full name signatures on both sneakers, the autographs were placed
perfectly on the white leather just above the stars while Jordan was attending
UNC. Although faded, they are still visible and complement these
keepsakes extremely well.