Written by: Darren Rovell of ESPN
A pair of Converse shoes that an auction house says Michael Jordan wore when he played at the University of North Carolina sold for $33,387 on Thursday morning.
Grey Flannel Auctions, which sold the shoes, said they were consigned by a high school teammate of Jordan. The auction house said the winning bidder prefers to remain anonymous.
Game-used Jordan shoes have commanded some serious dollars in recent years.
Last year, Grey Flannel sold an autographed pair of shoes Jordan wore during his famous “Flu Game” in the 1997 NBA Finals for $104,765. A pair of shoes that Jordan wore in his rookie season with the Bulls sold for $31,070 in 2013.
Grey Flannel executives held back a pair of 1984 Converse shoes that Jordan wore for the Olympic gold-medal game for a future auction.
Jordan wore Converse throughout his days at North Carolina because, at the time, the company was paying UNC coach Dean Smith about $10,000 a year to have his players wear its shoes. Converse made a pitch to Jordan when he turned pro after the 1984 Olympics, but its $100,000 a year offer fell $400,000 short of Nike’s deal. The rest is history. Nike’s Jordan brand sells more than $2.5 billion worth of sneakers annually.
Other highlights in the auction included a Babe Ruth game-used Tour of Japan hat, which sold for $303,277, a record for a non-Yankees cap; a 1937 Joe DiMaggio game-used Yankees hat ($151,652); a 1932 Yankees team-signed ball ($115,242); and a Dr. J game-used Philadelphia 76ers road uniform ($44,428).
