Michael Jordan game-worn Air Jordan 1, Oct 26 1985 Bulls-Pistons ('Bad Boys' rivalry game)

The shoe the league tried to stop

Michael Jordan entered the NBA in 1984 with offers from Adidas, Converse and Nike. On October 26, 1984, he signed a six-year deal with Nike reported at $2.5 million, more than rival companies offered. The first Air Jordan was made for him that November and went on sale to the public on April 1, 1985.

The shoe was designed for Nike by a team that included Peter Moore. NBA rules said shoes had to be at least 51 percent white and match what the rest of the team wore, and the red and black design was only about 23 percent white. Nike agreed to pay the league's $5,000 fine for each game. It then built an advertisement around the fight: 'On September 15th, Nike created a revolutionary new basketball shoe. On October 18th, the NBA threw them out of the game.' Accounts differ on which shoe the league actually objected to. One says it was the red and black Nike Air Ship, the shoe that came before the Air Jordan 1.

Nike had hoped to make $3 million from the line in three years. Sales far passed that, and the first 50,000 pairs sold out. The pair in this story is the white, red and black 'Chicago' version, with red and white leather uppers, a black leather heel wrap, a black Swoosh and the original Air Jordan wings logo.

October 26, 1985

The Bulls opened Jordan's second season at home against Cleveland on October 25, 1985, and he scored 29 points in an overtime win. The next night the Detroit Pistons came to Chicago Stadium. Reports on the sale describe this as the night that ignited Chicago's rivalry with Detroit's 'Bad Boys.'

Bill Laimbeer hit Jordan with a hard clothesline foul, a play reports say would draw an ejection under today's rules. Both benches cleared, and both head coaches, Stan Albeck of Chicago and Chuck Daly of Detroit, were thrown out.

Jordan kept playing. In 41 minutes he shot 9 for 24 from the field and 15 for 16 from the free-throw line, with 33 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Isiah Thomas scored 36 for Detroit. Chicago won 121-118, and Jordan sealed it with a left-handed free throw in the final seconds.

Three days later, at Golden State, Jordan played 18 minutes and then went out with a broken foot. He missed 64 games. The Bulls finished 30-52 but still made the playoffs, and on April 20, 1986, in Boston, Jordan scored 63 points in a double-overtime loss to the Celtics. Because of the injury, the October 26 game is one of only three he played that season before March.

How this pair is identified

The most visible feature is the lacing. Each shoe carries two laces, one red and one black, a combination Jordan wore only on certain nights. Period photographs from the October 26 game show the same setup.

The photo match goes further than the laces. Game images show the same uneven lace lengths and a loose thread on the Nike Air label of the left shoe. The right shoe is stamped '13 1/2' with the code '850204' and 'TYPS,' and the left shoe is marked size 13. Jordan signed the inside heel of each shoe in black ink, and the signatures were graded 8 to 9.

The sale catalog said the wear suggests the shoes may also have been used in other games, possibly including Jordan's Rookie of the Year season the year before. That is a suggestion, not a documented fact. The photo match ties them to October 26, 1985.

From the equipment room to the auction block

The shoes came directly from John Ligmanowski, who was the Bulls' equipment manager through the 1980s and 1990s.

Bidding opened October 24, 2025, at $25,000 and ran through November 16. The pair drew 24 bids and sold for $205,188.14, more than eight times the opening bid.

On a card and in the equipment room

This game was part of collecting history before the shoes surfaced. It is the game pictured on the 1986 Star Co. Michael Jordan #9 rookie card.

This pair has every kind of proof collectors look for. It is photo-matched to a well-known game, signed by Jordan and sourced from the team's own equipment manager. The game is the one sale reports say ignited the Bulls-Pistons rivalry, and it was Jordan's last full game before the broken foot that cost him most of the season.

The numbers

Game

October 26, 1985, Detroit Pistons at Chicago Bulls, Chicago Stadium

Final

Bulls 121, Pistons 118

Michael Jordan

41 min, 9-24 FG, 15-16 FT, 7 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk, 6 TO, 33 pts

Opponent high

Isiah Thomas, 36 pts, 9 ast; Bill Laimbeer 16 pts, 10 reb

Season context

Jordan's 2nd game of 1985-86; broke his foot in the 3rd and missed 64 games. Bulls 30-52, lost to Boston 3-0 in the first round

Timeline

1. Oct 26, 1984

   Jordan signs his first Nike deal, reported at $2.5 million over six years.

2. Nov 17, 1984

   The first Air Jordan is produced for Jordan.

3. Apr 1, 1985

   The Air Jordan goes on sale to the public.

4. Oct 25, 1985

   Jordan opens his second season with 29 points in an overtime win over Cleveland.

5. Oct 26, 1985

   He scores 33 against Detroit at Chicago Stadium in this pair, in a game marked by a bench-clearing incident and the ejection of both coaches.

6. Oct 29, 1985

   Jordan plays 18 minutes at Golden State before a broken foot sidelines him for 64 games.

7. 1986

   The 1986 Star Co. Michael Jordan #9 rookie card shows the October 26 game.

8. Apr 20, 1986

   Back from injury, Jordan scores 63 points in a playoff loss at Boston.

9. Oct 24, 2025

   The pair goes up for auction with a $25,000 opening bid.

10. Nov 16, 2025

    Bidding closes at $205,188.14 after 24 bids.

The world in 1985

• Mar 11, 1985

  Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader of the Soviet Union.

• Apr 23, 1985

  Coca-Cola launches New Coke. The backlash brings the original formula back within three months.

• May 16, 1985

  British Antarctic Survey scientists announce the discovery of the ozone hole.

• Jul 13, 1985

  Live Aid concerts in London and Philadelphia raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia.

• Sep 1, 1985

  An American-French expedition locates the wreck of the Titanic.

• Sep 13, 1985

  Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros.

• Oct 18, 1985

  The Nintendo Entertainment System goes on sale in North America, eight days before this game.

Price record

A realized auction price is what a buyer actually paid on the date shown, including the buyer's premium where the sale reported it. It is the strongest kind of reference price, and it is a record of one sale of one object on one day, not a promise of what the next example will bring.

By reference price, Michael Jordan game-worn Air Jordan 1, Oct 26 1985 Bulls-Pistons ('Bad Boys' rivalry game) is number 12 of 100 in the sneakers entries of the FLOAT 100. 22 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (11 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• This game was played one year to the day after Jordan signed his first Nike contract.
• Both head coaches, Stan Albeck and Chuck Daly, were ejected after Laimbeer's foul on Jordan.
• Jordan made 15 of 16 free throws that night, and the last one, taken left-handed, sealed the win.
• The right shoe is a half size larger than the left: 13 1/2 against 13.
• A loose thread on the left shoe's Nike Air label is one of the marks that matched the pair to game photographs.
• Three days after this game Jordan broke his foot, and he played only 18 regular-season games that season.