Karl Malone Columbia Shoe Prototype 1 of 250 Jerry Sloan auto and 6 more auto's

Description: This extremely limited edition Columbia shoe prototype, is a must-have for any fan of Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz. Made for men, these shoes are perfect for basketball enthusiasts and collectors alike. The shoe features the Columbia brand and is officially licensed by the National Basketball Association (NBA), making it a unique addition to any fan apparel and souvenirs collection. Whether you are a fan of Karl Malone or the Utah Jazz, this shoe is a rare find that cannot be missed. PE Spotlight // Karl Malone's APEX Mailman ShoesA look back at one of the Mailman's APEX Player Exclusives in celebration of his 49th Birthday. words // Brandon Richard In the fall of 1996, then-defunct footwear and apparel brand APEX was revived by KRP Sports, who marked the brand's resurrection by signing Utah Jazz power forward Karl Malone to a 5-year endorsement deal. Part of Malone's extremely unique agreement included being appointed to the Board of Directors for Ryka, a publicly held company that would go on to merge with KPR and become Global Sports Inc. Also under the terms of the deal, Malone would wear the APEX Voltage during the 96-97 season and receive his own Mailman signature shoe the following year t's hard to say Karl was ever an extremely marketable player, but APEX managed to catch him at the height of his popularity. Malone won a second Olympic Gold Medal in 1996, made his first trip to the NBA Finals with the Jazz in 1997 and claimed the first of his two MVP Awards. During the summer of 1998, he tagged with Diamond Dallas Page against Hulk Hogan and Dennis Rodman at WCW's Bash at the Beach. The event drew more than 1.5 million pay-per-view buys, which ended up being the second most in company history.Despite all of his success, APEX dropped the ball on getting Malone's Mailman footwear into stores. Malone was quoted as saying, "It's not a big deal to me if they're in the stores or not. They feel good to me, they have the look that I want and that's what's important." That sounds about right. Anybody out there losing sleep over missing out on Mailman APEX kicks?With all of that said, today is Karl's 49th Birthday, and we're showing him a little love by giving you a look at one of his old APEX Mailman Player Exclusives. This particular PE was debuted by Malone in the 1997 NBA Finals, when he squared off against nagging archrival Dennis Rodman and the Chicago Bulls. He'd go on to wear the same shoe throughout the 97-98 season and sporadically in 98-99.These APEX Mailman's feature a white leather upper with wavy purple and gold synthetic overlays along the side panels. Embroidered near the collar is "Mailman 32," while the APEX logo appears above the lateral midsole. There's additional APEX embroidery running down the tongue and subtle teal detailing on the fabric lace loops. You'll also notice an "MVP" rubber logo on the shoe's heel.This pair, presumably in Karl's size 16, is available for the bargain price of $16000 on eBay. They are signed by Jerry Krause and several players from the 1998 team. Karl refused to sign them. Maybe it’s playing for Utah. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s relatively distant as a public figure compared to other players. Maybe because he never signed a sneaker deal with Nike. The Mailman has always been a polarizing player when it comes to fans. Regardless, owning a pair of the Karl Malone APEX Mailman shoes, the kicks he wore for the epic battles with Dennis Rodman and the last dance Chicago Bulls, would be bucket list material for any sneaker collector.Speaking of collecting, my friend B-Rich from Sole Collector once write about the APEX deal with Utah Jazz power forward Karl Malone and revealed that the brand, which had gone out of business sometime in the early ’90s, was revived by KRP Sports in 1996. Part of their big plans to bring APEX back to relevancy was signing Karl Malone to a 5-year endorsement deal. Part of Malone’s deal included being appointed to the Board of Directors for Ryka, a publicly held company that would go on to merge with KPR and become Global Sports Inc. And of course, that Karl Malone would wear APEX shoes during the 96-97 season and get his own Mailman signature shoe the following season.Between his WCW appearance and winning gold at the 1996 Olympics, you might think Karl Malone and APEX were onto something special. Clearly the publicity was there. He led the Jazz to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 1997 and 1998, so the shoes definitely had their share of airtime. That said, the Karl Malone APEX Mailman shoes never lived up to their potential. Throughout the years, a handful of these have shown up on eBay, or on auction house sites selling game-worn and signed memorabilia, but typically they sell for well beyond what sneaker collectors would be willing to pay. https://www.complex.com/sneakers/a/brandon-richard/pe-spotlight-karl-malone-s-apex-mailman-shoes

Price: 1291.5 USD

Location: Ridgefield, Washington

End Time: 2024-09-02T04:51:48.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD