Old School Design: Ralph Sampson Puma

Today's Old School Design takes a look at one of the less familiar basketball shoe posters of the 1980's. We all remember those classic Air Jordan shoe posters that Nike put out in the 1980's featuring the one and only Michael Jordan, but this one might not come to mind as quickly. The poster features Ralph Sampson of the Houston Rockets and his Puma shoes.

Sampson was one of the most hyped players in college basketball history at Virginia. His classic collegiate battles with Patrick Ewing and the other great stars of the 1980's are the thing of legend.

When Ralph entered the NBA, he paired with Hakeem Olajuwan to form the Houston Rockets Twin Towers. In the 1985-86 season, Sampson and his Rockets made it to the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. Though Sampson's career was cut short by injuries and he never reached his potential as an NBA star, he is definitely a college and professional basketball legend.

This classic Puma poster features Sampson in an Egyptian pyramid style scene paying homage to the Mighty Sampson, pushing apart the columns of the building. He is standing there in his own smooth style, sporting a classic pair of Pumas. This is one of those classic posters that has been forgotten over time, but thanks to Sports Design Blog, you get to live it all over again! I guess the Puma was not just for break dancing after all!

Comments

[Zubaz is zu-back!]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Costacos Brothers made that poster. The dramatic set and the "Sampson" pun are signature Costacos poster features. I did a google image search for Costacos posters, and I stumbled on your April 29th entry. I'll have to read it now, lol...

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I read also that with his size and agility Sampson was expected to score like Wilt Chamberlain and win championships like Bill Russell when he reached the pros. The Houston Rockets made him the No. 1 pick in the 1983 NBA Draft. As a rookie he averaged 21.0 points and 11.1 rebounds, played in the All-Star Game, and won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.