Michael Jordan, Larry Bird Once Had Rival Burgers Named After Them At McDonald's

Shandel Richardson | Jun 25, 2024

Neil Starkey / For the Amarillo

Michael Jordan and Larry Bird had huge endoremsents with McDonald's during the late 1980s and early `90s.

They were most famously known for their trick-shot commercial that remains one of the most popular in television ad history. What many forget is they both also had signature burgers at the fast-food chain giant at that time.

If you were in the Chicago area, they offered a McJordan. It was basically a a Quarter Pounder with cheese, pickles, onions and barbecue sauce. McDonald's did a series of commercials that included some of Jordan's teammates. The one below features B.J. Armstrong, Craig Hodges and Stacey King.

In Boston, you could order the Big 33 when walking into a local McDonald's. It was basically the same as the Jordan burger. Not many know about this because it occurred during the pre-Internet days. Advertising was done mostly at the local level, so word of mouth was the only way to find out what was happening in other areas.

I can't speak for Boston but the McJordan reached folklore status in Chicago while it was available. As an Illinois native, I had plenty of the burgers. There remains several Internet discussions about the item. Most center around the barbecue sauce because it seemed it wasn't what McDonald's normally used.

In 2012, a gallon jug of it reportedly sold for nearly $10,000 on Ebay. So, apparently, Jordan is the G.O.A.T of barbecue sauce, too.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com