Jordan, 35, called it quits after a 15-year playing career in course of which he electrified audiences worldwide with his sublime skills on the court, and captivated them with his grace and dignity off it.

In an era of celebrity worship, Jordan was a matchless icon. Sociologists and sports critics alike were unanimous in terming his retirement the `end of an era'.

Twice a member of the Olympic gold medal winning dream team, Jordan carried his team Chicago Bulls to six national championships, three on either side of a temporary retirement which briefly took him out of the game in 1993-1994.

This exit looks more or less final even allowing for the national outcry that is erupting for the man many believe is still in his prime. Some are still sceptical and hopeful. The Washington Post front page headline, for instance, read: Jordan to Take a Shot at Retirement.

For Indian readers, his retirement would be akin to Sachin Tendulkar calling it quits at the height of his game.

The stunning announcement, leaked on Monday by Jordan flunks to several news outlets, was as much a blow to business as a calamity for sports. Upon the news, share prices of Nike, which makes a line of shoes and other accoutrements named after Jordan, fell by five per cent in Tuesday's trading.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) itself, which depends on Jordan's charisma and skill to bring in crowds and advertising revenue, was stunned. Many commentators spoke of the imminent demise of basketball, the number one American sport in terms of revenue generation and crowds.

Indeed, Jordan drew an unparalleled 500 continuous full houses for Bulls games in the 1990s. Tickets for the games, usually priced at $65, could not be had for love or money when Jordan was on show. He is estimated to have brought in $165 million by way of gate collection and $366 million by way of merchandise sales for the Chicago Bulls.

Fortune magazine recently estimated that he had generated business worth $10 billion in his playing career. Even personally, he was one of the highest paid athletes in sports, although his $33 million annual fee from the Bulls last year paled in comparison with the money he earned through advertising and endorsements. Sports Illustrated, the continent's most popular sports publication, put him on cover 47 times, despite their hate-hate relationship.

While the NBA lamented the exit of its financial mascot, even workaday businesses said they would feel the pinch of his retirement in the coming months. Many sports bars across the country, equipped with large television screens, depend on Jordan's drawing power to keep their happy hours going. This year's NBA season has already been curtailed due to a dispute between players and the association and an abbreviated season -- minus Jordan -- begins February.

So momentous and sad was the announcement of Jordan's retirement that the story displaced other convulsive political developments during the day. Newspapers and networks pulled out all stops to put together specials about the American idol, who will make a formal announcement of his retirement at noon Wednesday (9.30 p.m. IST). There will not be a radio or television network which will not cover it live.

In Chicago, Jordan's adopted home town (he comes originally from North Carolina), the Arctic winter chill became even more bitter with the news. Fans in the city, which has a magnificent bronze statue of Jordan downtown, spoke achingly to TV crews about the man they called His Airness, and whose exit spells a virtual finis to the reigning NBA champions.

Jordan was the glue who held the otherwise ordinary team together. In part, his retirement was caused by a face-off with the Bulls management, which wanted to get rid of coach Phil Jackson and several other players and build a new team. Jordan had said he would not play under any other coach, and when Jackson rode off into the sunset in a Harley Davidson after last year's win, the retirement was always on the cards.

Television stations across the country repeatedly played Jordan's final game winning shot against Utah Jazz which won the Bulls a sixth championship last year. It was a vintage, trademark Jordan act, a final, last gasp effort that elevated him above other greats.

Some might dispute the appellation of greatest sportsman of all time, but critics say few can challenge the assertion that he was the greatest `pressure sportsman' in history, someone who delivered victory at the final call. In the NBA alone, he is said to have made 25 game winning shots in the final second -- somewhat akin to hitting a game winning six of the last ball in a one-dayer.