Nike Air Jordan 10 ‘Salesman Sample’ Baseball Cleats | Size 9

On October 6, 1993, coming off three consecutive NBA Championships, Michael Jordan shocked the basketball community when he publicly announced his first retirement from the Chicago Bulls, and privately announced to Bulls and Chicago White Sox owner, Jerry Reinsdorf, his intention to switch sports. Earlier in the year, James R. Jordan (Michael’s father) was tragically murdered, and many believe Jordan’s career change was a tribute to the love that James R. Jordan had for the game of baseball. Jordan played baseball for 13 months, during which time he signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox’s farm team, the Birmingham Barons.

Offered in this lot is a pair of 1995 Salesman Sample Nike Air Jordan 10 Baseball Cleats. Incredibly scarce, these unreleased samples would have been produced for Nike representatives to present to retailers, showcasing both the design of the cleats and the emerging identity of the Jordan Brand. Never made available to the public, they represent a rare intersection of Jordan’s baseball career and Nike’s product development history.

The cleats are in deadstock condition and remain unused. They are dressed in black laces, a checkered interior lining, black and white midsoles, and a black outsole fitted with six metal spikes per foot. A red Jumpman logo adorns the heel, while the text “AIR JORDAN 23” is embroidered across the outer tongue.

In 1994, at age 31, Michael Jordan’s baseball chapter officially began when he joined the Birmingham Barons, the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. Returning to a sport he had not played since high school, Jordan notably wore the number 45—a continuation of the number he had once worn during those early days.