Transitional Signature (1987-1988)
It was at this point in time that you’ll see a few changes take place in MJ’s signature, especially for in-person signatures. As i’ve mentioned before, the sheer number of autograph requests Jordan must have been getting at this time was most likely overwhelming, so you start to see some shortening of his autograph, more overlapping of first and last name and fewer formed letters.
This would be the time when you can see the beginnings of the single-stroke autograph that would come very soon.
As you can see from this 1988 signed All-Star team basketball (signed during All-Star weekend in 1988 for a Huffy Sports rep) his first and last names totally overlap. However, you’ll see if you look closely that the “J” is still fully formed, most likely one of the last times he would sign this way before switching to the single stroke auto. A quick note: one reason I love this basketball and added it to my collection is that is specifically dates from All-Star Weekend in 1988, in which Jordan won the Dunk Contest and All-Star MVP that weekend, plus during that year had arguably the best individual year in the history of basketball: NBA MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Scoring Champion, Steals Leader, All-NBA First Team + the previously mentioned All-Star weekend titles.
I consider this Jordan's transitional period because you’ll see lots of different variations of his signature during this point, and you can tell he is experimenting on a shortened versions of his last name with fewer letters. The hint of the single-stroke version that would come the next year is evident as you examine this signatures, but I do think think these versions still have a certain flare that the single-stroke variations that are featured in the next section just don't have.
1987 Jordan Pictures Sports Illustrated Singed with a shortened "Jordan"
1988 All-Star Slam Dunk Fan Judging Card
Signed One Man Gang Sports Illustrated
Another 1988 All-Star Signed Basketball