If you’ve been to the Oakland Coliseum to watch the Athletics, it won’t take long before you see it worn by a fan or Coliseum employee.
It’s a beanie featuring Stomper, the A’s official mascot, including the trunk and ears of Oakland’s most popular elephant.
You can’t buy the Stomper Beanie in any team store because it’s made by one person, who spends about four hours crocheting each one with her hands.
You can only get them from Kim Jackson, who sits in a wheelchair beside her closest relatives and friends in section 134 at the Coliseum.
She made the first Stomper Beanie in 2017 for her husband.
“As I was showing Steve what I made, he was like, ‘Where’s mine?'” said Jackson.
Steve is Stephen Jackson, who’s been married to Kim for 31 years. The season-ticket holders, whose first date was at an A’s game, have been going to the Oakland Coliseum to root for their favorite baseball team for more than three decades.
Steve and Kim could’ve never realized what came next. Workers noticed the beanies being worn by Kim’s family at A’s games, asked where they could get one for themselves, and were eventually handed a Stomper Beanie by Kim.