Baltimore Gets Its Own AF-1 From Nike As Thank You For Saving The Sneaker Design

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- As a thank you to the city for single-handedly saving the Air Force 1 shoe design in the 1980s, Nike has blessed the sneaker heads of Baltimore with an exclusive design.

"Without Baltimore, the Nike Air Force 1 might have faded out of existence," according to a press release from the sportswear company. "In 1984, two years after its launch, Nike wasn't planning to continue production of the shoe, but thanks to Baltimore's enthusiastic wearers, the AF-1 continued to be made."

The Nike SF AF-1 Mid "For Baltimore" started being sold exclusively at Downtown Locker Room in Mondawmin Mall and on Monument Street in Baltimore on September 30.

The shoes have a custom-embroidered strap, an '84 hangtag and comic-inspired insoles, and come in a box illustrated by artist Ed Piskor, who also created a comic book telling the story of the key players who helped keep the Air Force 1 in production.

Among those players were the now-closed Cinderella Shoes and Charley Rudo Sports stores.

A mural by Piskor is now featured on the former site of Cinderella Shoes, and commemorative plaques have been placed at Downtown Locker Room, alongside where Cinderella Shoes and Charley Rudo Sports formerly existed.

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