Shoes worn and signed by Bo Jackson: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Pair of dark blue athletic shoes worn by Bo Jackson. The shoes have white accents including a white Nike logo on the side of the shoes. Blue type on the back of the shoes reads: [NIKE]. Handwritten on each of the shoe's heels is: [BO]. An inscription in black marker on the outside of the left shoe's logo reads: [To / Big Bob / from, Bo Jackson]. The leather is extremely worn and cracking throughout.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1982-1994
• Manufactured by: Nike Inc., American, founded 1971
• Subject of: Bo Jackson, American, born 1962
• Type: athletic shoes
• Medium: leather, rubber, cloth
• Dimensions: H x W x D (left shoe): 5 × 4 1/2 × 12 in. (12.7 × 11.4 × 30.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (right shoe): 5 × 5 × 12 1/4 in. (12.7 × 12.7 × 31.1 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Athletes
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Football
• Topic: Sports
• Topic: Track and field
• Object number: 2013.120.6ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Nike Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.