Nike Portland hosted one of the sickest sneaker release events of the year when it invited VIP guest Tinker Hatfield to meet and greet Air Jordan fanatics and offer autographs to their new Concord XI boxes. Having Tinker’s John Hancock on the best Air Jordan of all-time (as determined by our Sneaker News readers) is undoubtedly a sweet treat, so if you were lucky enough to attend the well-organized event on Friday, kudos to you! However, if you weren’t able to meet Tinker and get your Concords signed, you’re in luck: a few of the autographed Concords have popped up for sale, so get your bids in on one of the available pairs like this listing from cooperjane on eBay.
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In late October, Sneaker News showed you a rare piece of Air Jordan memorabilia – an Air Jordan 2010 autographed by Michael Jordan and the legendary footwear architect Tinker Hatfield. It’s extremely rare to see an Air Jordan signed by both icons of footwear history, but MJ and Tinker came together (with MJ donating the sneakers from his own collection) to support the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oregon. In fact, this particular pair is the only Air Jordan in existence with both signatures, and Tinker himself has provided a letter of authenticity to prove that what you’re bidding on is truly a piece of history (and all for a great cause!). The auction is now live and will run until this Friday, December 9th, at 11:45 AM, so check out the extra shots below and head to MWCAuction to bid now.
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Nike All Conditions Gear was born out of a desire to examine the sporting world outside of hardwood, grass/astro-turf, or a paved running track. ACG exemplified Nike’s explorative attitude, personified by the 1981 releases of the Magma, Approach, and Lava Dome, and in 1989, ACG became official; many of Nike ACG’s greatest designs were the result of a collaborative process behind the brand’s most famed designers and engineers like Tinker Hatfield, Toren Orzeck, and Peter Fogg, and in the thirty years of its existence, ACG has traveled the indirect path from outdoor-performance to cult worship. Shoes like the Air Mowabb paved the way for contemporary ACG designs like the Ashiko Boot and the Lunar Macleay, which, like the early ACG models, were intended to tear up Earth, but have also landed on the pedestal of those who consider ACG the utmost in design excellence. Want to learn more? Check out vintage ACG print-ads below and take a look at Crooked Tongues’ Gary Warnett’s full article to study up on one of the most historic wings of Nike history.
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When a country with a population surpassing 1.3 billion heads comes together to celebrate one entity, what can stop it? There are a few ongoing urban myths noting the sheer magnitude of the country’s population, one so massive that if everyone jumped up and down at the same time, it would cause an immense earthquake, or if all the toilets in China were flushed at once, tidal waves would engulf the entire globe. Both are likely to be untrue, but what is true about China is its love for the game of basketball and the American-born superstars of the sport. The Chinese have also embraced the American-born brand of Nike with open arms, and it’s gestures like this book, titled ‘Beyond The Court’ (published by iSIZE Media with the help of Nike) that reflects the Eastern passion for Nike Basketball and its legacy. Although the text is in a Chinese dialect and the book is likely to be available only in China, ‘Beyond The Court’ is a certain must-have for any book collector of Nike Basketball fanatic – consider it an updated, foreign version of Sole Provider. We’ve got some pages for you to look at below, so take a gander and let us know what you think.
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The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oregon and Southwest Washington was presented a special gift by legendary designer Tinker Hatfield – a pristine pair of the Air Jordan 2010 autographed by himself and Michael Jordan from Michael’s own collection. This rare piece of Jordan Brand memorabilia is the only on in existence, but the Ronald McDonald House Charity House, with the help of a local sports radio broadcast, will auction off this masterpiece with all final supporting the RMHC mission. The auctions will be hosted by the radio station beginning December 5th and ending December 9th. Continue reading for a video with Tinker Hatfield detailing the Air Jordan 2010 and this particular specialty and be sure to participate in the auction as it will support a cause that we are all very familiar with!
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What do the Air Jordan III and the University of Oregon have in common? None other than Tinker Hatfield. Hatfield was picked up by Nike after he graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Architecture, and the Air Jordan III was his first design of the Air Jordan, beginning a string of sneaker designs that are considered to be some of the greatest of all time. Here’s a look at the Air Jordan III ‘Oregon’ – an Air Jordan III with the school’s logo and branding around the shoe. The tongue features the domineering ‘O’ logo while the heel features a playful logo of ducks feet instead, and the upper also shows a funky white circular logo. The eyelets are yellow to match the school’s colors as well. These were posted up on Donald Glover’s Do It Donald! tour by Portland native pdxkeith, so check out the extra shots below and stick with Sneaker News for more updates!
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In conjunction with the release of the Nike Mag 2011, Nike created a “lost” episode from the Back To The Future saga, where Doc Brown mistakenly arrives four years earlier than intended to the year 2011. On the night of September 8th, 2011, Doc encounters the Nike Mag 2011, but unfortunately the power-lace system wasn’t developed at the time. The lost episode starred Christopher Lloyd, Bill Hader, Kevin Durant, and Tinker Hatfield and added even more ‘cool factor’ to the geeked out excitement surrounding the Nike Mag 2011 and the Back To The Future saga. Sneaker News now brings you a Behind The Scenes look at the making of the episode; this video features commentary from Michael J. Fox, Mark Parker, Tinker Hatfield, Christopher Lloyd, Kevin Durant, and Bill Hader, discussing the excitement and significance behind this legendary project. For the younger readers out there who might be unable to comprehend the importance of this event: the Nike Mag 2011 release is a once-in-a-generation opportunity even for a brand as progressive as Nike is. Continue reading for the full video and chime in with your thoughts, and to bid on a pair of these iconic Nikes, head to www.nikemag.ebay.com.
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“Woah. He made like a tree and got outta here.”
That, of course, is one of the famous lines from the original Back To The Future from 1985. On this calm September 8th night, Kevin Durant is straight chillin’ with his boy Bill Hader, when Bill whips out ‘The Future’ – the Nike Mag 2011. While the two are basking in the beauty of the futuristic shoe with all the pretty lights, Doc Brown shows up to retrieve the kicks, and asks “Does this power-lace?” Much to Doc’s disappointment, Tinker Hatfield, the designer of the Nike Mag 2011, breaks the bad news and mentions that the self-lacing system won’t arrive until 2015. After a bit of confusion, Doc realizes that he’s landed in the incorrect time period, and speeds away in his Delorean, to which Kevin Durant reacts with the famous BTTF phrase.
The Nike Mag 2011 has proven to be one of Nike’s greatest specialty releases of all-time, with all 1,500 pairs hitting eBay and all proceeds going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. This awesome video brings together icons of the Back To The Future saga and the Nike Mag, while contemporizing it with the rest of the cast. It’s also interesting to note that out of all the iconic athletes on the Nike roster, basketball superstar Kevin Durant was specifically chosen to play a key role in this amazing promo video. Check out the hilarious piece after the jump and back4thefuture.com, and if you want to throw a few bids in for one of the sneakers, go to www.nikemag.eBay.com.
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