Retro Air Jordans

The first retro Air Jordans were released in 1994 after Michael Jordan announced his retirement from the NBA. Nike, as well as many others, believed that Jordan would never step foot on the court again after his announcement of retirement.

The first retro Air Jordans released were the Air Jordan 1. It would make sense to start here. The retro Air Jordan 1 was released in only 2 colorways in 1994 as opposed to 23 colorways for the originals. The price was also raise from $65 to $80, though many did not sell at the full asking price.

The next two retro Air Jordans released were the Air Jordan 2 and Air Jordan 3. The Air Jordan 2 was only released in 1 colorway but in both mid-cut and low-cut. The Air Jordan 3 was released in the two most famous colorways - White/Cement and Black/Cement. The White/Cement Jordan 3 retro is a hot item to find since it is the last white colored Jordan 3 to feature the "Nike Air" logo on the back of the shoe.

Nike was only able to release three models of retros before Michael Jordan returned. Supprisingly, most of these shoes didn't actually sell until his return. The retros were not popular by any means and were an easy find at clearance racks

Better Luck in '99

Michael Jordan went out with style in the NBA finals making the "Last Shot" and winning his sixth NBA championship among a career full of amazing achievements. Many speculated that the Air Jordan line would continue despite his presence in the NBA, but no one expected that retro fever would infect so many.

Nike tried again with the retro idea on May 5, 1999 by picking up where they left off - Air Jordan 4. How the public reacted to the rerelease of the Jordan shoes was not expected. The shoes sold out most places on opening day with long lineups, a few campouts, and even some fights. The retro Jordan fever was official.

More and more retro Jordans have been released since the Black/Red Jordan 4s and more and more retro Jordans will continue to be released.

When did they make that color?!

Starting with the retro Air Jordan 4, retro Jordans were being released in colorways that never existed before which turned off some die-hard collectors, but attracted many others. The retro Air Jordan IV+ was released in three colorways while the retro Air Jordan IV was only released in two colorways. Initially the "retro +" colorways didn't sell as well as the original ones, but today many of the "retro +" colorways are worth more than the remake of the original Jordans.

MISSING: Nike Air Logo

An official bulletin announcing the disappearance of the ever so famous "Nike Air" logo hit in early 2001 when the retro Air Jordan 3 was re-released in the "True Blue" colorway WITHOUT the "Nike Air" symbol on the back of the shoe. Technically, the retro + Air Jordan 4s were the first retro Jordans to not have the "Nike Air" logo and instead replaced with a "Jumpman", but the absense of the "Nike Air" symbol on an original colorway angered many (if not most) collectors.

In 2003 when the White/Cement Grey Jordan 3 was retroed (again) the missing "Nike Air" logo was a major topic of discussion on NikeTalk.com (the largest forum for sneakerheads). Phrases like "butchered classic" were thrown around as well as "ruined retro." Collectors learned that they would have to accept that the retros were just not quite the same as the originals.

More quantity, Less quality

Ask any Jordan collector why he didn't buy the latest retros and the answers are almost unanimous. The quality of the retro Air Jordans has never been quite the same as the originals, but starting in 2003 many collectors really started to notice the decline in quality. Mis-matching colors, excess glue, thinner (more creaseable) leather are all complaints many collectors have discussed. The final straw for many came with the 2004 release of the retro Air Jordan 4 in White/Chrome-Green colorway when the tongue wasnt even made of leather, instead it was made of some weird polyurithane.

Another beef collectors have with the retro Jordans is that there are a million and a half colorways being released of every retro and in unlimited numbers. Nobody complained too much when Nike brought out a ton of colorways for the retro Air Jordan 11 because each colorway was quite limited in terms of units released. Most recently, there were 12 colorways released of the retro Air Jordan 13 which was nothing short of overkill.

All in all, the retros have been a major success for the Air Jordan shoes. Many people have been able to buy back a part of their youth and many of today's teens can experience a part of Jordan history through the retros that were first released before they were conceived.

Air Jordan Release Dates Retro Air Jordans Air Jordan Shoes Michael Jordan Biography Air Jordan Sneakers Jordan Kicks