A local Sacramento man found out last month that the old pair of shoes he had tucked in the back of his closet proved to be worth more than just the sentimental value.
Dan Russell received these shoes while at the 1972 Olympic trails in Eugene, Oregon. At the time he was a young athlete with hopes of securing a spot as a marathon runner with Team USA. These shoes, named Moon Shoes, were one of a kind, a prototype of one of the first Nike shoes designed by co-founder Bill Bowerman. Russell looked into selling the old shoes and never expected to receive $50,000 for them, all these years later.
Russell was given one of only twelve ever made, unique for their waffle print on the soles and the original design. He spoke with Fox40 in an interview released on Wednesday saying that, “They were very unorthodox shoes. They were very exotic because the sole was completely different. It was made on a waffle iron. It was glued to the bottom of the shoe. The shoe was completely handmade."
The buyer of these shoes is a hotel chain that will be opening a Nike-themed property in Eugene, a natural place to display a piece of the Nike-Olympic history.