Introducing: Ewing Athletics

There is simply no better day to (re-)introduce the legendary Ewing Athletics brand than on St. Patrick's Day. After all, founder and owner of this classic 90s basketball shoe brand is no other than the man, the myth, the greatest 'Pat' in New York City history, Patrick Ewing himself.

As the first professional basketball player to have his own shoe company, the Hall-of-Fame center founded Ewing Athletics in 1989 shortly after leaving adidas, the company who signed him out of college and gave him his first signature shoe, the Rivalry Hi. After wearing an unbranded all-white plain shoe for most of the 1988-89 season to "keep people guessing what was next" Ewing introduced the 'Rebound' later the same year.

With Ewing on the design team, the brand dropped the iconic '33 HI' model just a year later and Patrick enjoyed his best season as a pro wearing it, averaging 28.6 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks. Ewing Athletics grew rapidly as their shoes were also worn on album covers and appeared in music videos and performances by numerous hip hop artists such as Tupac Shakur, Gang Starr, Kriss Kross and many more.

Like many basketball shoes Ewing Athletics footwear transitioned quickly to the concrete where they developed a cult following. This continued on long after the company seized production in 1996 after releasing over 20 different models. Not sold in stores anymore, demand for vintage Ewing shoes on platforms like eBay multiplied and soon Ewing shoes were true collector's items for sneaker enthusiasts.

So much so that Patrick Ewing decided in 2012 to relaunch the brand together with avid sneaker collector Dave Goldberg, which leads us to this year's limited St. Patrick's Day colorway of the Ewing Athletics Rogue. One of the most eye-popping colorways of recent memory will surely make heads turn wherever these shoes are worn.

All Ewing shoes come with a small keychain, a little signature booklet and a shoebox with an older picture of Ewing of his Georgetown days, when he led the Hoyas to a national title in 1984.