Shoes were just shoes for the first 80 some odd years of the 20th century. Then in the mid-80s, Nike released a pair of shoes featuring the greatest of all time. As legend has it, the iconic sneaker series almost never lifted off. The silhouette of Michael Jordan served as inspiration to create the Jumpman logo. The original Air Jordan I sneaker, produced for Jordan in 1984, were released to the public in 1985.