A's fan's handmade Stomper Beanies are a prized possession at Coliseum games
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 a family member.
"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.
Fans started noticing the beanies and wanted one, too. Soon, she was crocheting beanies and blankets for A's players, including Khris Davis, Tony Kemp, and the late Ray Fosse.
Seven years and 952 Stomper Beanies later, Jackson is still crocheting for A's fans for a charitable cause.
She and her husband, who live in American Canyon, are board members of Refuge and Hope, which collects donations to help children and widows in India and the Philippines. Jackson charges $40 per beanie, using the funds to buy supplies and donating the rest to the charity.
"When I became disabled, I got hit with the 'You make a lot less now and you're going to be set with that pretty much the rest of your life' type of thing. But I still have more than they do,' Jackson said.
Jackson has had 15 spinal surgeries, limiting her mobility.
"Some days people don't even think I'm disabled. There are some days where it even hurts to breathe," Kim said. "That's why the wheelchair at the stadium is important for me."
Crocheting Stomper Beanies also combines two of Jackson's favorite things in the world.
"Crocheting saved my life in moments that I needed my sanity," she said. "After my spine surgeries, recovery is really hard. I would watch baseball, I would have my hook, and I would just hook away. That would get me through a lot of the painful moments."
It all leads up to a heartbreaking moment for Jackson and her family, as the A's get ready to play their final game at the Oakland Coliseum on September 26.
"Am I sad? Yeah. But come Thursday, we're going to have our last tailgate. It's not going to be the last time I see my friends because they're my friends. And (John) Fischer can't take that. He can't take the memories. He can't steal that," she said. "Fisher did not make Oakland. We made Oakland. They might take the A's with them, but they can't take Oakland."
No one can take Jackson's crocheting away, either. She expects to be done crocheting Stomper Beanies by December, long after the A's play their final game in Oakland. There are currently 47 A's fans on her waitlist who have either requested one in person or through social media.
Jackson will then move on to crocheting baby blankets and beanies for the NICU at her local children's hospital.
