When we last left off, I had discussed the history of the Jordan Brand itself, along with the first two sneakers. That post can be found here. In this post of the series, I will enlighten ‘Jordan Dummies’ on Jordans’ 3 through 5. Yesssss.

The Air Jordan Three:

The third effort from the Jordan Brand was designed by Tinker Hatfield, who went on to design all of the Jordans up to number 15. The shoe was released during a great season (87-88) for Jordan where he was the league MVP, defensive player of the year, and winner of the Slam Dunk Contest. The 3′s were the first Jordan to have a visible air unit in the heel, along with the now prominent “Jumpman” logo. The most unique feature of this shoe, is definitely the elephant print. Swagger!

These are easily one of the most popular Jordan sneakers of all time, and are tied to one of Nike’s greatest advertisement campaigns. “It’s gotta be the shoes!” exclaims Spike Lee’s “Mars Blackmon” in the famous commercial series. The shoes were re-released in 1994, 2001, and 2003 in different colors.

The Air Jordan Four:

Like stated before, all of these shoes were designed by (architect!) Tinker Hatfield. The shoes were released during the 1989 season and were the first Jordans to be released globally. After the success of the first three shoes, these sold out very quickly. These shoes featured breathable mesh on the sides, along with trapezoidal stabilization.

Along with Jordan’s play, Spike Lee helped the cause as he featured these shoes throughout his movie, “Do the Right Thing,” along with a new string of commercials. In the movie, there’s a scene when a character gets his Jordan 4′s scuffed and angrily cleans them immediately with a toothbrush. This was a very emotional point of the movie to me….as all sneakerheads could relate. These shoes were re-released many times, but most noticeably in 2006 with a Mars Blackmon logo on the side.

The Air Jordan Five:

Released in 1990, the fifth installment of the series helped Jordan win his fourth scoring title, along with a 69 point game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Hatfield and Jordan drew inspiration from a WW2 Mustang Fighter plane, leading to the shark teeth styling on the side. Some other stand out features of these sneakers are definitely the reflective tongue along with the lace-lock at the top of the sneaker.

Sneakerheads had gripes about these shoes due to the clear rubber soles. The clear rubber soles quickly would turn to yellow (as you can see in these photos), and there was no way of getting them back to clear. The only way to prevent this was to store them in a dry and cool place. These shoes have been re-released many, many times,  in some spectacular colors (Grapes anyone?)

Note: “Grapes” are the nickname given to the Jordan 5 pictured below. These came out as a re-release in 2006. Dummy.

In the next edition, we’ll take a look at the first set of “Three-peat” Jordans worn. Hopefully all my Jordan Dummies are getting a small education here. Let’s Go!

-G