Happy 41st Birthday to the Air Jordan 1

Michael Jordan has the most successful athlete-specific signature footwear line of all-time in the Air Jordan franchise. The series, however, almost panned out differently.

On Nov. 17, 1984, in a Home game matchup between the Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers, a young number 23 laced up a white, red, and black pair of sneakers on-court. Originally known as simply "Air Jordan," the high-top silhouette wasn't too dissimilar from the Nike Air Ship MJ had begun his professional basketball career in, but bore more resemblance to the Nike Dunk High that would debut months later. The rookie guard, however, didn't seem all-too-convinced with the debut signature style designed by Peter Moore, so he returned to rocking the Air Ship.

MJ wouldn't returned to the Air Jordan 1 until a month later, with the silhouette piquing people's interests in the lead up to its retail launch in April 1985. "His Airness" continued wearing his OG shoe in a "Chicago" presentation well into his second year in the NBA. Had he decided against Moore's proposal, the first Air Jordan might've been written out of history after that tough loss against Julius Erving 41 years ago, but things panned out completely differently.

Happy (technical) birthday to the one that started it all.

You can shop all Jordan Brand products via Nike.com/Jordan.