Tim Boyle, president and chief executive officer of Columbia, recalls a story told to him by professional golfer Peter Jacobsen. Jacobsen had rented a boat three years ago in Florida with Tinker Hatfield, and when they returned to the dock they found 20 people waiting. He’d assumed they were after autographs from him, but instead they wanted the signature of the legendary Nike designer and had no idea who Jacobsen was.

Hearing about a shoe designer getting more attention than a professional athlete, Boyle remembered his own company’s involvement with a master of the craft. In 1993, Columbia released its first footwear by way of the Bugaboot, designed by Peter Moore of Air Jordan 1 and Nike Dunk fame. If Hatfield could garner such a crowd, Boyle reckoned consumers might be interested in Moore’s Columbia lore — and now the brand is in the retro business.

Next week, Columbia will reissue the Bugaboot in its original “Emerald/Blueberry” colorway. To commemorate the year in which it debuted, just 1,993 pairs will be made available through a curated list of retailers including Lapstone & Hammer, Packer and Solefly.

“We have not been as successful in the footwear business as we should have been with such a great start,” Boyle told Footwear News in a call Friday. “We’re making further investments in footwear and making sure we have the right team of talented people to get us to a much bigger footwear business. We’ve got a few legacy historical pieces, and over time we’re going to be releasing those things and making people interested in what we’re doing in footwear.”

With the exception of a few small changes, the Bugaboot returns exactly as it was more than 30 years ago. A slight change in fit sees a few flex points changed by a few millimeters, while a modern Omni-Grip outsole and techlight midsole are used for improved grip and cushioning.

Becca Johnson, director of Special Projects and Collaborations for Columbia, said because the company had such great samples, recreating it wasn’t a hard as anticipated. The boot was simply sent to the team in Asia, where the execution was nailed for the silhouette with oil-treated leather and molded rubber shell upper.

“This project means a lot to our family,” Hagen Moore, son of Peter Moore, said in a press release. “My dad poured his heart into everything he worked on, and the Bugaboot was no exception. To see Columbia bring it back with so much care and respect for our father’s original design while pushing it forward with today’s tech is something we know he would’ve been incredibly proud of.”

The Bugaboot is named for Columbia’s iconic three-in-one Bugaboo jacket, which itself debuted in 1986 and is named for the Canadian mountain range. It essentially offers the durability and upper of a duck boot with the comfort, performance and sole of a sneaker. A 1993 ad for the Bugaboot features Gert Boyle, Tim’s mother and president of Columbia from 1970 to 1988, with the tag line, “My mother makes combat boots.”

Marketing guru Rob Strasser, who partnered with Moore after the two left Nike, was also involved in the creation of the Bugaboot. He passed away the same year the Bugaboot released, and Boyle said he was an “incredibly interesting, very bright and ambitious, aggressive guy — you just knew you were going to like him.”

Moore and Boyle would go on to be close friends until the designer’s passing three years ago.

“Peter was our first and only call,” Boyle said in a press release. “He and Gert shared an obsession with problem-solving through design, making him a natural partner to help launch this new chapter. Today, we honor Peter’s immeasurable legacy and celebrate Columbia’s own history in performance footwear alongside Peter’s sons, Hagen and Devin, who were instrumental in bringing this new project to life.”

The Columbia Bugaboot will release Oct. 14 for Columbia Greater Rewards members and the next day to the wider public. Pricing is set at $250, and each pair is numbered out of 1,993.