Early 80's Style (High School - 1982)

Before he hit the game winning shot at UNC in the 1982 Championship game, Jordan was already a star, being named to the 1981 McDonald’s All-American team and scoring a then record 30 points and hitting 2 free throws to tie and then go ahead.  That final free throw ended up as the game winner, an early sign of his ability to perform under pressure like no one else the sports world has ever seen.


Given this early stardom, there are some interesting examples of his early signatures, from high school yearbooks, to fan obtained autographs.  One very interesting thing you’ll see if that his "J" in Jordan is almost identical to his father’s, Mr. James Jordan.  

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Michael's Dad, James Jordan Signature
As you can see from this signed poster that included Michael, his mother and his father's signatures, Jordan's "J' was extremely similar to his father's writing style.   


These unique early signatures have a few differentiating factors that you’ll notice only on these styles.


  1. The "M" in Michael always stands alone and has a defined stopping point on the final stroke.  The initial stroke of the "i" in Michael usually crosses over the last "M" stroke, but different than what his signature would soon become, the final stroke on the "M" never directly connects to the starting stroke of the i in one continuous motion as 99.99% of his autographs would feature from approximately mid-1982 through today.
  2. The Dotted "i" - As I originally read on rareair23.com by Darren Shikina back around 2006, Jordan very rarely (if ever) after 1982 would dot the "i" in Michael.  You can see from these examples that he would dot his "i’s" on flats, posters, yearbooks, magazines and even basketball’s that contained the non-cursive "J" variation.  Any authentic Jordan autograph with a dotted "i" is extremely rare.
  3. Full Name - These variations almost always have Jordan’s entire name spelled out, which is a practice he ended completely around 1991-92 when he signed with Upper Deck, but was experimenting with fewer letters as I assume the autographs were becoming overwhelming by that point.  These early autographs contained all of the letters in Michael and featured all the letters in Jordan except the "n" in most cases.  You’ll see the "n" tail off in most of these signatures, which would be a Jordan staple in most of his signatures throughout his career.
  4. The J - The "J" in Jordan in these styles is a simple cursive style "J" that emulated his father’s signature.  This would be the way he signed on many flat items through his time at UNC, mostly in his first couple of years.  On basketballs, his style changed more, from the non-cursive J that is featured in the next section, to the flare he began to add the summer in between his freshman and sophomore years.
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Earliest Known Authenticated Jordan Signature
This was reported (and still may be today), as the earliest known authenticated signature of Jordan's, from a 1977-78 signed yearbook. (From Goldin Auctions archive)
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Early Jordan Signature from a Yearbook
A high school year book signature with inscription and handwritten note
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Early Jordan Signature from a Yearbook
Another high school year book signature with inscription and handwritten note
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1981 Laney Yearbook Signed and Sold at Auction in 2023
Another high school year book signature with inscription and handwritten note
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Signed Yearbook with Long Note
This example is very, very close to the signature he used as a freshman at UNC on the posters and photos he signed.
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An early Laney High School Yearbook Signature

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A Signed Game Program from most likely the McDonalds All-American Game

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A 1981-82 UNC NCAA Champs Team Signed 1981-82 Poster Schedule

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Another 1981-82 team signed championship poster


Next Up: Rare "Non-Cursive J" Variation (1981-82)