We recently visited Savoy Special; a vintage shop located on Antique Row in the heart of Downtown Tacoma. We chatted with owner Michael Maker about some of his favorite items. Michael showed us a few things, but this red and white letterman jacket stood out.  Like so many items along Antique Row, it comes with a story.

Before moving to Tacoma from Portland, Michael scoured Craigslist, as any good vintage dealer would, and he stumbled across a posting about an Estate Sale in Halsey, Oregon. In the posting he noticed photos of vintage Nike sneakers, still in the box, along with other items that grabbed his attention. Michael made the hour and half drive to what he would soon discover to be the childhood home of Tinker Hatfield.

If you don’t know who Hatfield is, just look at the feet of Michael Jordan through most of his career. Hatfield is a designer at Nike, responsible for all of Jordan’s shoe designs from 1985 to 1999, as well as collaborating on Jordan brand shoes through 2010. He is also well known for designing the Nikes worn by Marty McFly in Back to the Future.

This letterman jacket found at that Estate Sale was Hatfield’s from high school. That same high school letterman jacket, belonging to the most iconic sneaker designer of all time, is sitting on a rack at Savoy Special in Downtown Tacoma. Those with an appreciation for design, streetwear culture, Michael Jordan, or Nike, should head down to Savoy Special and check out this unique piece of history.

Walk into any vintage or antique shop along Antique Row and ask about an item on the rack and there’s a good chance there’s a story behind it.  It’s stories like these that can only be told from Downtown Tacoma.

Savoy Special Vintage : 740 Broadway Tacoma, WA 98402

www.savoyspecialvintage.com : @savoyspecialvintage

Tuesday-Saturday 11am-6pm

Photo of Hatfield & Jordan from Handout / Getty Images via Highsnobiety.