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Air Jordan VI

What makes the Air Jordan VI so remarkable? Could it be that the AJ 6 was worn during MJs first NBA title? Or could it be he won his first NBA Finals MVP? Maybe it is the material, or design of the Air Jordan VI. Which ever it may be, this is one shoe to remember.

On the Air Jordan 6 Michael Jordan gave direct orders to have a clean toe, so Tinker Hatfield made sure the Air Jordan VI had a reinforcement around the toe, making the AJ VI the first basketball model to obtain this. MJ had problems putting on the past five models, so Tinker designed two holes on the top of the tongue, and one loop on the back, calling it a spoiler.

The AJ 6 was the second model to have the clear rubber sole. When the Air Jordan V was released a lot of people complained that their children were falling because the soles would collect dust that was on the court, making the sole slippery. Now on the AJ VI Tinker added a more solid rubber, so this problem would not happen again.

Michael wanted the heel tab positioned so it did not hit his Achilles tendon, making the Jordan 6 the first shoe to have any sort of molded structure on the back. The last touch Tinker gave was incorporated the number 23 on the design of the shoe. When the original Air Jordan VI came out in 1991 there were five color way models retailing for $125.00. In 2000 three models were re-released of the AJ 6, selling for $120.00, and in 2002 three low top versions came out which sold for $105.00. In 2005 Jordan Brand released a DMP which stands for Defining Moments Package, which consisted of the Air Jordan VI and XI. Retail is $295.00.

Original Air Jordan VI (1991)
White/Infra Red-Black
Black/Black-Infra Red
White/September Blue-Black
Off White-NW Maroon
White/Carmine-Black

Air Jordan VI Retro
Black/Deep Infra Red

Air Jordan VI Retro +
Midnight Navy/Varsity Red-White
White/Midnight Navy
Black/Metallic Silver Low
White/University Blue Low
White/Coral Rose (wmns low)
Black/Gold (Defining Moments)

Air Jordan VI Samples
White/Carmine-Black 23
Black/Infra Red

Air Jordan VII

Tinker Hatfield could be inspired by anything when it comes to the Air Jordan line. On the Air Jordan 7 when Tinker was in Portland, he saw a poster that was African art, influenced by an Afropop Worldwide. The person in the poster was playing a guitar shaped like Africa. Around the time when Tinker was ready to design the AJ VII Michael sat down with him and mentioned that he wanted the shoe to stay young and interesting, while remaining sophisticated.

Tinker had now went inside the store and asked to purchase the poster, but the owner did not want to sell it because he was advertising a radio show and the Afropop music. Tinker had now told him he worked on the design of the Air Jordan line. The store owner decided to sell the poster to him for $15. All the lines on the AJ 7 were influenced by Western African tribal patterns, which were on the poster. The Air Jordan VII was also worn by Michael Jordan in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Nike had made a special Olympic color way, and instead of the number 23 there was 9 on the back.

In 1992 Nike had released five color ways of the Air Jordan 7. They sold for $125.00 each. In 2002 two more models came out retailing at $125.00. In 2004 the Olympic VIIs came out and sold for $130.00. Now in 2006 four models released which sold for $135.00, and one womens model sold for $130.00.

Original Air Jordan VII (1992)
White/Light Silver-True Red
Black/Light Graphite-Bordeaux
Black/True Red
White/Midnight Navy/True Red
White/Black-Cardinal Red

Air Jordan VII Retro
Black/Dark Charcoal-True Red
White/Metallic Gold-Midnight Navy-True Red
White/Black-Cardinal Red-Bronze

Air Jordan VII Retro +
White/French Blue-Flint Grey
Pearl Wht/Bright Ceramic-Pacific Blue
White/Varsity Maize Black
Black/Citrus-Varsity Red
Black/Chambray Light Graphite
Pearl White/Bright Ceramic Pacific Blue
White/Varsity Purple-Flint Grey

Air Jordan VIII

Tinker Hatfield wanted the Air Jordan 8 to not feature a Nike sign. He thought the Jordan Brand was strong enough at this point to hold its own. Tinker brought up to Nike that the Jordan line was strong enough to start eliminating the Nike sign at the AJ VI. After Tinker was done telling his story, Nike pretty much laughed in his face.

It took a lot of time, and a lot of convincing to make this happen, but it finally went through. If you look at the Original Air Jordan VIII model you will notice there is no Nike sign.

The Air Jordan VIII started a lot of talk through sneaker heads, basketball players, or people that enjoyed a pair of Nikes. The design was crazy, the AJ 8 also had a polycarbonate torsion plate, and to top it all off, the color ways blew people away.

A sad feature about the AJ VIII was they were not as comfortable as other Air Jordan models. The straps (also called bunny ears) would make the shoe tight on the sides, so people with wide feet had a hard time wearing them. What the AJ 8 did have going for it is: durabuck uppers, Air sole, Huarache inner sleeve and anti-inversion cross-straps (aka bunny ears).

In 1993 the Original Air Jordan VIII released in three color ways. The Color schemes were White/Black-True Red, Black/Bright Concord-Aqua Tone and Black-Black-True Red. They sold for $125.00. When 2003 came, Jordan Brand released two more models of the Air Jordan 8 selling for $135.00, also two low cut versions of the AJ VIII were released and sold for $110.00.

Air Jordan VIII Original (1993)
White/Black-True Red
Black/Bright Concord-Aqua Tone
Black-Black-True Red

Air Jordan VIII Retro
White/Black-True Red

Air Jordan VIII Retro +
Retro Plus Black/Chrome
White/Metallic Silver (low)
Black/True Red-Del Sol (low)

Air Jordan VIII Retro 2007
Black/Bright Concord-Aqua Tone
White/Varsity Red-Bright Concord-Aqua Tone
Air Jordan 8 Midnight Navy/Pea Pod-Orange Blaze
White/Orange Blaze-Silver-Stealth
Ice Blue/Orange Blaze-Silver
White/Anthracite-Dark Orange
Black/Varsity Red-White

Air Jordan IX

In 1992-1993 when Tinker Hatfield and Nike started working on the Air Jordan 9, Michael Jordan was in Asia to promote for Nike. Tinker was really influenced by Japanese design. There is a lot of features on the shoe that you may not know which came from the Japanese culture.

Here is a comment from Tinker on the Air Jordan IX:
The Air Jordan IX represented the globalization of the Air Jordan brand name. Everybody around the world wanted to be like Mike. Take a close look at the soles of the shoes, we designed the different languages around the world that describes the sporting spirit of Michael Jordan and what he has done for the world of sports.

On the back of the AJ 9 you will see a Rising Sun with the Jumpman logo. On the shoe it self there are words in different languages that best represents Michael Jordan, and those words are:

Left Shoe
Uhuru (Swahili) - Independence
C (Russian) - Freedom
C (Russian) - Sport
Athletisch (German) - Athletic
Muundaji (Swahili) - Hope

Right Shoe
Intenso (Italian) - Intense
Libert (French) - Freedom
Anmutig (German) - Graceful
Fuerza (Spanish) - Force
Ddi (French) - Dedicated

When asked what shoe should be on the statue of Michael Jordan in front of the United Center in Chicago, Tinker said the Air Jordan IX, because the shoe represented MJ being a global superstar. The Jordan 9 came equipped with dynamic-Fit inner bootie, encapsulated Air-Sole unit (forefoot), large volume Air-Sole unit (heel), polyurethane midsole and one-pull lacing system.

The first model of the Jordan 9 released in 1993, and a total of four models came out that year. In 2002 four more AJ IX were released, and the set price was $125.00. Two models released of the AJ IX lows selling for $115.00. In 2002-2003 an Air Jordan IX Cleat was made (they came in Metal cleats and MCS 3/4).
Air Jordan IX History

Air Jordan IX Original (1993)
White-Black-True Red
White-Black-Dark Powder Blue
Black-Light Olive-True Red
Black-Dark Charcoal-True Red

Air Jordan IX Retro
White/Black-True Red
Black/Light Olive-True Red

Air Jordan IX Retro +
White/French Blue-Flint Grey
Medium Grey/White-Cool Grey
White/White (low)
White/Blue Pearl (low)

Air Jordan IX Samples
White-Black-Varsity Green #13
Black-Dark Charcoal-Varsity Blue
Black-Black-White (cleats)
Black-Black-White

Air Jordan X

Michael Jordan was now away from the game of basketball, and he began a relatively short lived career in baseball. Many people thought the Air Jordan line was done, even Nike, but Tinker Hatfield had a different thought.

The Air Jordan 10 was the first model that Michael Jordan did not approve, he had talked to Tinker at the beginning stages of development, but nothing was set in stone. The quality of the shoe was up to par with huarache inner sleeve, leather uppers and quick lace system, but something was not right with them.

When the Air Jordan X was released, a lot of the models had a strap of leather going across the top of the toe, but then Nike came out with a clean-toed version (just how Michael liked his shoes). When Michael returned to the NBA he did wear the Jordan 10, with his new number 45 on the side.

Since Tinker and the people at Nike really thought that MJ was hanging the towel up for good, they wanted to show appreciation to what Michael had accomplished in his career. On the sole of the AJ X Tinker and Nike listed Michaels milestones for every year in the NBA (from 1985 to 1994) which are:

* 85 ROOKIE OF YEAR
* 86 63 POINTS
* 87 SCORING TITLE
* 88 DUNK CHAMP
* 89 ALL DEFENSE
* 90 SCORES 63 POINTS
* 91 MVP/CHAMPIONSHIP
* 92 MVP/CHAMPIONSHIP
* 93 MVP/CHAMPIONSHIP
* 94 BEYOND

In 1994 when the original release of the AJ 10 came out, a total of three models released, and a regional pack which had five different color ways representing five selected teams. Those lucky teams are - Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Seattle Supersonics and the Chicago Bulls, and a pair of Air Jordan X cleats were released, all retailing at $125.00. When 2005 hit Jordan Brand knew it was time to re-release the AJ X, so they sold for $125.00 and a total of 7 color ways and two of them were for women.

Air Jordan X Original (1994)
White/Black-Light Steel Grey
White/Black-Dark Powder Blue
Black/Dark Shadow-True Red
White/Black-True Red
White/Black-Kelly-Yellow Gold
White/Black-Royal Blue-Metallic Silver
White/Black-Royal Blue-Orange Flame
Black/Dark Concord-Metallic Silver

Air Jordan X Retro
White/Black-Light Steel Grey-Varsity Red

Air Jordan X Retro +
White/Obsidian-Ice Blue-Varsity Red
Black/White
White/Linen-University Blue
White/Ice Green-Varsity Red (wmns)
White/Varsity Red-Light Steel Grey
White/Medium Violet-Light Graphite (wmns)

Air Jordan X Samples
Black/Dark Shadow-True Red #45
White/Black-True Red #45
White/Black-Royal Blue-Orange Flame #44
White/Black-Kelly-Yellow Gold #13
Black/White-Black (cleats)

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