A drive by the Oakland Athletics to celebrate its 50th year in the town and provide a showcase for local artists has now yielded dozens of weird and wild “Stomper” statues all over town.
On Friday, Jack London Square announced that it will host four six-foot tall statues of the A’s elephant mascot Stomper, each painted by a different local artist.
According to a press release issued by a Square spokesperson:
Local artists used a variety of materials including paint, mirrors, mosaic tiles, glitter, and baseball cards to transform the six-foot statues. [...] The statues will be on display throughout the 2018 season. Fans can sponsor a Stomper statue with the option to take him home at the end of the exhibit. Proceeds from the sponsorship will benefit the Oakland A’s Community Fund.
The four Jack London pachyderms are but a few of the 50 scattered all over Oakland, in recognition of the team’s golden anniversary with its hometown. The A’s announced the “Stomper In the Town” exhibition last year.
Naturally, this is an opportune time for the A’s to make a big public display of fealty to Oakland as a city and community, what with some other sports franchises we could name forsaking Oakland as a hometown in the near future.
Some of the Stompers are kitschy, some cute, a few sincerely creative, and some fairly startling. All of them, however, uniquely Oakland.
Curiosity seekers in search of the pick of the litter can consult the team’s map of locales for a (humane) elephant hunt.
- Oakland A’s Fund [Foundation Center]
- A’s Announce “Stomper In the Town” [MLB]
- Stomper In the Town [Athletics]
- Stomper Locations [Athletics]
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