On May 16, 1980, Los Angeles Lakers point guard Earvin
“Magic” Johnson stepped in for injured center Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar and scored 42 points, leading the Lakers
to a four games-to-two series win over the Philadelphia
76ers for their first championship since 1972.
Peter Moore designed Air Jordan sneakers for Nike in 1984
but spent most of his career as a senior executive with
Adidas. (Courtesy Adidas)
Paired with a young sports star whose ascendancy
defied gravity, Moore’s art form inspired a pop-
culture phenomenon.
Moore designed the original Air Jordan sneakers.
They were first worn by Chicago Bulls rookie basketball
star Michael Jordan in 1984 and then released to the
public before the end of the NBA season in the spring
of 1985.
The sneaker biz has never been the same.
"The Air Jordan transformed the industry by turning
sneakers into objects of pop-culture desire," sneaker
expert and writer Brendan Dunne, co-host of "The
Complex Sneakers Podcast," told Fox News Digital.
The original Air Jordan, he added, "set the standard
for footwear obsession in America."
Michael Jordan attends a press conference for the
celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Air Jordan
shoe during the "Palais 23" interactive exhibition
dedicated to Jordan at Palais de Tokyo in Paris on
June 12, 2015, in Paris, France.
(Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images)
The Trail Blazers debuted their new mascot at the
Tuesday night basketball game. The Big Foot
mascot was named Douglas Fur, ‘Douggy’ for
short.
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William W. (Bill) Schonely (June 1, 1929 – January 21, 2023)
Bill Schonely was local sports broadcaster who was the play-
by-play announcer for the Portland Trail Blazers for almost
three decades, from the team’s launch in 1970 until 1998.
The Trail Blazers organization retired Schonely’s microphone
on November 3, 2003.
In 1999, Schonely was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of
Fame for Broadcasting.
In 2012, Schonely was awarded the Curt Gowdy Media Award
from the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Former NBA champion player and coach Chris Ford, who
rose to prominence during his time with the Boston Celtics,
has died Tuesday. He made the first 3-pointer in NBA history
on Oct. 12, 1979.
