HOUSTON (AP) — Adam Jones recently procured the final pieces of an extremely rare shoe collection.

Just how exclusive is this footwear?

Even with a multimillion-dollar salary and the perks that accompany fame at his disposal, it still took Baltimore's All-Star center fielder four years and a shoe-sleuthing crew of 10 people to complete the extraordinary and special collection: Ten pairs of limited edition Doernbecher Air Jordans made by Nike.

He says they're his prized possessions although that is secondary to the meaning behind the shoes.

Their name is derived from the acclaimed Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, Oregon, where kids with illnesses from cancer to kidney failure work with Nike on the designs. The collaboration has raised more than $14 million for the hospital since its inception.

One pair was created by Isaac Arzate, a preteen basketball and baseball player who went into cardiac arrest during basketball practice. An undiagnosed abnormality was discovered and open-heart surgery followed. He designed the shoes in 2012 while in rehabilitation at the hospital, but before they were released the 12-year-old died after a second heart attack.

 

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