The Rare "Non-Cursive J" Variation (1981-82)
An extremely rare Michael Jordan signature variation that has fooled many collectors into assuming this is a forged signature, the rare "Non-Cursive J" variation was a short-lived signature format that Jordan used very early in his UNC days.
The first time I saw this “non-cursive J” variation was as a freshman at UNC in 1993, but didn’t think anything of it as i wasn’t into autographs at that point. There were multiple team signed UNC basketballs in a store on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill called Shrunken Head Boutique. This ball was one of them and is still on display there to this day.
Not until the late 2000’s after starting to collect Jordan autos did I realize this was a special signature when Darren Shikina, owner of RareAir23.com mentioned this on his website. He had only seen 2 at that point but as i mention below, I’ve been able to find 20 total since then in my extensive research.
From that point on, obtaining one of these style UNC Jordan signatures has been a goal of mine and earlier this year I finally found one that I felt warranted purchasing…a Carolina Basketball School basketball signed by the 1982 Championship team.
The reason I purchased this ball is because it is most likely one of the earliest team signed UNC ball Jordan is on, dating to the summer of 1981. Every year, Dean Smith would require his team to attend and coach at his summer basketball school. This was before school started and that was the only place to obtain this basketball. This is important because this helps date Jordan’s earliest variation of this signature to the summer prior to his freshman year.
I don’t consider myself an expert on these early autos, but i am extremely knowledgable about this style signature and have been tracking the sales of these at major auctions, on ebay and the ones in private collections that I’ve seen posted. From all of this research and tracking, i’ve been able to determine the following:
1. Jordan generally signed this "non-cursive J" variation from the summer of 1981 before his freshman year through late 1981-early 1982. I estimate about 8 months or so. Almost all of the balls with this variation i’ve seen date to this time period based on the other signatures. I’ve seen some balls with team members that played with Jordan his sophomore and Junior years with this variation, as well, but some could have been obtained over a couple of years with the Jordan signatures obtained during this earlier time frame. He may have used this style every now and then outside of these dates, however, as I have seem numerous examples from the 1982 and 1983 seasons. It's impossible to discern exactly when each was signed this way as you start to look at dating signatures to exact time frames.
By the time UNC won the championship on March 29, 1982, Jordan had changed back to a similar cursive style "J" that he used in high school. There are a couple of dated examples of this change, one being the game ball from the 1982 Championship game on display at the Carolina Basketball Museum, the second was featured on Antiques Roadshow, given to an NCAA referee, i think. His signature would continue to evolve over that summer to the more recognizable rookie style signature he used for a number of years and definitely in the 1982-83 UNC season. The other thing you will notice if you compare the “non-cursive J” variation and the cursive variation from early 1982 is the the Michael is virtually identical, from the M to the slant and letter sizing. Further evidence this is an authentic style.
2. Jordan ONLY signed this “non-cursive J” variation on basketballs, not any flats, posters or other items at UNC. ***UPDATE 4/15/24 - I have come to find 2 additional non-cursive J variations on something other than a basketball or the jersey mentioned below. There are two t-shirts I have come across, one in a private collection and one that sold at auction a few years ago that were signed with the non-cursive J variation. Very interesting, for sure.
My guess is it was easier to print the J on larger items (basketballs) than write cursive and he was a freshman, so new to the autograph game and probably experimenting with his signature. There is one caveat to this…I have seen this “non-cursive J” on 1 other autographed item, his Stefanel jersey from 1985 from his exhibition tour (shattered backboard). See pic below. This is an authentic signed jersey with the “non-cursive J” sold at a major auction house. Beautiful and authentic example. Another larger signature than normal, so maybe that’s why it was easier to sign this with a printed, non-cursive J. ***Please see update above regarding the 2 t-shirts signed with this variation I've been able to find recently.
3. I have been able to identify around 30 of this variation so far, ~27 on UNC basketballs, the one on the Stefanel jersey and the 2 on t-shirts as mentioned above. This is Jordan’s scarcest style signature as every other autograph style was used on every single item he would sign
4. The evidence that finally cemented that this was a real and authentic style signature beyond any reasonable doubt was the fact that there is another team signed ball at the Carolina Basketball Museum at UNC that features this style signature. If that’s not proof this is a valid variation, I don’t know what is. (See photos)
5. Jordan’s “non-cursive J” on these balls matches his printed J handwriting that has been used over the years on some items i’ve seen (documents, etc)
Again, for Jordan collectors, this style signature is the rarest of the rare, causing some to question its validity. But rest assured, owning one of these is truly the holy grail of Michael Jordan autographs and it is most definitely an authentic style signature of Jordan himself.
Example from private collection
Rare Game Used Stefanel (Broken Backboard) jersey with Non-Cursive J
Example from Past Auction
Example from rareair23.com
This example has been at a store on Franklin St in Chapel Hill, NC since at least 1993. Assume it has been there since 1981-82
Another Auction example of this "non-cursive J variation"