By: Amar Shah
He had the best seat in the house.
Jason Edelmann wasn't a celebrity like Jack Nicholson or Spike Lee, but his courtside seats were unparalleled. As a ball boy for the Detroit Pistons during the 1980s, he had a front-row view to NBA history in the making.
“The Pistons were looking for somebody,” Edelmann remembered. “Someone mentioned it to my dad in conversation and the next thing I know, I'm being offered the opportunity to be one of the few ball boys on the team. So it was just the right time, right place.”
Edelmann was in eighth grade when he became a ball boy during one of the most electrifying eras in NBA history.
The league was on the brink of stardom, with luminaries like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Dr. J dazzling fans with their skills (fittingly all three were also featured on the same 1980 Topps three-player card, the rookie card of Bird and Magic). For Jason, these legendary players weren't just names on a roster—they were the stars of his own personal basketball odyssey.
“Each game, we'd rotate,” Edelmann said. “There's only a handful of us, maybe six. So two of us, on any given night, would be assigned to the Pistons’ locker room and work with them directly. Two of us would be assigned to work under the basket. So if someone slipped and the floor got sweaty, you'd run out with a broom or a towel. Then, two would be assigned to the visitor bench. You'd set stuff up before the players arrived and get whatever they needed.”
The 1980s also experienced a blossoming interest in sneakers thanks in large part to the many stars of the NBA, particularly Michael Jordan. Edelmann used this opportunity to amass a phenomenal collection of game-worn sneakers, the center of which was His Airness.
Edelmann recalled, “When I was working the visitor locker room, I would strike up a conversation with one of the players and ask him for his shoes. Sometimes, they would say yes, and sometimes, they would say no.”
He had a front-row seat to the pre-Bad Boy Pistons featuring Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, and Bill Laimbeer.
“Isiah was always very kind and nice to me,” Edelmann recalled. “But Joe Dumars, my favorite player ever to play, was a total gentleman. He did not fit the bad boy type, but he played really hard.”
But it was a game in 1984 that Edelmann's hobby intersected with a rookie guard, bringing sneaker culture and basketball history together in one fantastic sequence.
“There was always a little bit more interest when the Bulls were in town,” Edelmann said.
And it was always more interesting when Michael Jordan was there.
“He was different,” Edelmann said. “He was popular, no doubt about it. Part of his popularity was that he was an amazing basketball player, but part of it was that he had these crazy shoes. And there was some drama regarding the logo or the color of the shoe, so that kind of added to it.”
The Nike Air Ships from MJ's 1984 rookie season are actually two different sizes. The left is size 13 while the right is 13.5.
History was taking place in front of his eyes.
In sneaker lore, it’s remembered that Jordan only wore Nike Air Ships for the first part of his rookie campaign and launched the Nike Air Jordan 1 on November 17, 1984, in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers. After rotating his footwear for a little over a month, Jordan began exclusively wearing Air Jordan 1s on December 20. The Bulls played the Pistons in Detroit on November 7 and December 12 that year. Edelmann was right there soaking it all in.
“I was working the Chicago bench as part of my rotation,” Edelmann said. “I talked to him a little bit before the game, but I tried not to be a pain. They all have their routines and you're just a kid. But you try to be present and use your gut regarding when it’s okay to talk to them.”
After the game, Edelmann went up to Jordan while he was changing and worked up the courage to strike up a conversation.
“I said, ‘Michael, can I have your shoes?’ He was a very nice guy every single time I worked with him or saw him. He laughed and I'm sure he was being sarcastic, but he's like, ‘What are you gonna do with them, put plants in them or something?'"
Edelmann just wanted a piece of NBA history.
“He was kind enough to give them to me. I asked him to autograph them and I was dumb and used a Bic pen.”
While the autograph on the outer ankle of both sneakers is faint, it’s there. Edelmann would hang the sneakers in his bedroom and add them to his collection. For years, he kept them displayed on his walls.
Those Jordan sneakers along with more than twenty other pairs from Edelmann’s collection are currently up for bidding in the REA Spring Auction.
Other pairs from Edelmann’s collection available in the REA event include pairs from Hall of Famers Robert Parish (Boston Celtics, game-worn Converse sneakers circa 1983-86), Isiah Thomas (Detroit Pistons, twice-signed game-worn Converse sneakers circa 1983-84), Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta Hawks, signed game-worn Brooks sneakers circa 1985), and Sidney Moncrief (Milwaukee Bucks, game-worn sneakers 1980s). The latter is part of a larger lot that includes 18 pairs of 1980s game-worn sneakers (17 signed, one unsigned) including Moncrief’s.
“I would store them in basements and try to keep them [up high] in case there was a flood or anything like that,” Edelmann remembered.
Lot 3228 includes 18 pairs of game-worn sneakers that Edelmann collected during his time as a ball boy, one of which is from Hall of Famer Sidney Moncrief
The decision to auction the collection comes from a place of necessity, underscored by a desire to secure his family's future.
“I've had some health problems,” Edelmann said. “And I just wanted to ensure that, depending on how my health goes, I'll take care of my family.”
Edelmann was about to sign a contract with another auction company when he hesitated and spoke to a friend who had done business with REA.
“I'm literally getting ready to sign, like right now, with [another auction house],” Edelmann said. “But this guy told me I should give [REA] a call, and so we started chatting a little bit and just felt like let's roll the dice . . . [since] REA focuses on sports memorabilia.”
It wasn’t easy to part with the sneakers, especially Jordan's, which underscores their emotional weight.
“I'm very likely never going to touch these again,” Edelmann said. “It's tough for me to get rid of the shoes. They've been with me for 40 years and are something cool that I've always had.”
But the lessons he learned are more important.
“The experience helped me grow up a little bit faster,” Edelmann said. “Being exposed to guys who are very talented and have the world in their hands, how they act, and how they treat people was important. I learned a lot from those guys who were kind to me, a lesson that still resonates today.”
A lesson well learned indeed.
Amar Shah is a multiple Emmy-winning writer and producer who has written for ESPN.com, NFL.com, The Wall Street Journal, The Orlando Sentinel, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Slam Magazine and The Washington Post. In the 90s, Amar was a teen sports reporter and got to hang out with the Chicago Bulls during their golden era. He even landed on the cover for Sports Illustrated for Kids with Shaquille O’Neal. His debut novel "The Hoop Con" is now available with Scholastic. You can order it here: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-hoop-con-amar-shah/1143287376?ean=9781338840315