Okay, so I was digging through some old stuff the other day, you know, just trying to sort out a box of memories. Found a stack of my old basketball magazines from back in the 90s. Man, brings back memories.
So I’m flipping through one, probably from ’95 I think. And there’s this big picture of Michael Jordan, back in a Bulls uniform. Classic, right? But wait a second. I looked closer at the jersey. It wasn’t the usual 23. It was number 45. Seriously, 45! I squinted, thought maybe it was a misprint or something weird.
I stopped right there. Put the magazine down. This just didn’t sit right with my memory. Jordan IS number 23. Period. So, I had to figure this out. What was this 45 thing all about?
I remember booting up my old computer, took forever. Just started searching around, typing things like “Jordan number 45” or “why did Jordan wear 45”. Took a bit of clicking around, reading bits and pieces on different fan pages and old news snippets.
Finding out the story
Turns out, this was right when he came back from playing baseball. His first retirement, you know? So when he decided to return to the Bulls mid-season, his famous number 23 had already been retired by the team. Like, hanging up in the rafters, nobody else could wear it.
So, he couldn’t just take 23 back right away. He had to pick a new number. He chose 45. I read a few things about why 45. Some said it was the number he wore playing baseball for the Birmingham Barons. Others mentioned it was his older brother Larry’s basketball number back when they were kids.
- He came back from baseball.
- His number 23 was retired.
- He picked 45, maybe his baseball number or brother’s number.
It felt kinda weird seeing pictures and clips of him in that number. It just didn’t look like the Jordan everyone knew. And apparently, it didn’t feel right for long.
From what I gathered, he wore 45 for just a handful of games that season. Then, during the playoffs, supposedly after some guy on the other team made a comment, he just switched back. Ditched the 45 and put the 23 back on, even though it was technically retired. Caused a bit of a stir, fines and all that, but hey, it was Jordan.
So yeah, that was my little trip down memory lane, triggered by an old magazine. It’s funny the details you forget or never even knew. The whole number 45 phase was such a small blip, but it happened. Just a weird little footnote in his huge career. Made me realize even icons have these odd chapters.
