Nike Air Force 1 “Jackie Robinson”: Sneaker Release Date, Price, Where To Buy

It’s almost Jackie Robinson Day once again, and with April 15 fast approaching Nike is set to release a special colorway of the Air Force 1 to honor the baseball legend and pioneer.

Robinson broke the color barrier on April 15, 1947, with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and despite facing immense pressure and frequent racism, Robinson went on to have a Hall of Fame career. Beginning in 1997, MLB retired Robinson’s No. 42 league-wide and declared April 15 Jackie Robinson Day. And since 2004, every player has worn Robinson’s No. 42 to celebrate.

Some of the highlights of Robinson’s Hall of Fame career include:

• 1947 Rookie of the Year award
• 1949 National League MVP award
• Seven All-Star Game appearances
• 1955 World Series championship with the Dodgers
• National League leader in steals twice and batting average once
• Career .313 batting average with 141 home runs, 761 RBI, 200 steals and 972 runs scored in 11 seasons.
• Named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999.

Last year, Nike released a special Dunk Low to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball. Granted, the shoe didn’t release in time for Jackie Robinson Day, but it was one of my favorite releases for the year and the No. 1 shoe I personally missed out on. It also remains very popular on the aftermarket, sporting an average sale price of $399 on StockX .

This year, Nike is honoring Robinson with a special Air Force 1. Releasing on Jackie Robinson Day for a retail price of $120, Nike notes on SNKRS that each detail on this Air Force 1 is “a tribute to the influential role model.” There is Robinson’s No. 42 on the lateral side of each shoe near the heel as well on the left insole, with baseball stitching under the Nike Air logo on the back and the old-school Brooklyn Dodgers logo on each tongue. The shoe also has special laces which say “Change the World” as well as lace locks with 1947 on one side and 1956 on the other, representing the beginning and end of his big league career. The upper is mostly a kind of off-white, sail colorway with hits of grey as well as Dodger blue, including on the Swoosh, and the midsole and outsole are speckled gum.

Personally, I prefer last year’s Dunk Low. That was one of the most beautiful shoes I’ve seen in recent memory and the materials look to be elevated from your normal Nike Dunk Low release. I also think I just prefer the Dunk Low silhouette over the Air Force 1. However, that doesn’t mean that this Jackie Robinson Air Force 1 also isn’t very nice and won’t be very popular. This is probably the best looking Air Force 1 model I’ve seen in a while as well, so Nike has done right in the designs it has come up with to honor a true American legend.

Best of luck to all who are going for a pair!

To see more of this month’s releases, check out our release date calendar.