In the mid-late 80’s, great Cali rap music was emerging not only in Los Angeles but also from Oakland, California. A young Todd Shaw was hustling cassette tapes with his boy Freddie B hand-to-hand in the streets. You could pay them $5 for a tape of their raps or you could get your very own custom request tape for $20. Once Todd and Freddy had the money in hand, they would go to Radio Shack, buy a few 30 minute blank tapes and then record music on them. Todd Shaw is better know to you all as Too $hort and he is a Bay Area legend.
Too Short came on my radar because of his album cover for Born to Mack which dropped in 1987. I love rap albums that have a car on them but not many come close to Short Dog on this cover. My brother Todd had the tape cover but I think he lost the tape or let somebody borrow it because all we had was that j-card. I used to take that j-card out of the plastic cassette case and stare at that album artwork and imagine what the songs sounded like. If Too $hort was this dope on his cover, I knew I was in for a treat when I finally got to hear him.
Top 5 rap album cover of all time. 1987 fire!
The first time I heard a Too $hort song was “I Ain’t Trippin’” and it was through the video for the song. The song itself was released on the Life Is… Too $hort album which dropped in 1989. Short Dog had a dope green Oakland A’s Starter Jacket in that video that I needed in my life. I had my Padres Starter Jacket just like him but 9 year old Timmy needed to get on that Oakland train. Look at that fat gold rope he’s rockin’ in this video too. Yes…. That’s the swag I was going for the person I wanted to be when I grew up.
The first full album I heard from Too Short was Short Dog’s In The House and we had that on cassette tape. While we had our NWA and Eazy E tapes that told us Los Angeles street tales, Todd Shaw laced us with raps all about the Bay Area. A lot of people don’t know this but Too Short is actually from LA but moved up to the Bay as a teenager. I soaked game from Short Dog and his song, “The Ghetto” brought realities to my world that I didn’t know about. That song opened my mind to other parts of the state of California and introduced me to people who were struggling with tough times and addiction. “The Ghetto” had the most amazing bassline in rap history and Too $hort was spitting conscious raps over the funky instrumental. (Side note, it was that instrumental on the album where I first started to rap.) And as great as the music on this album was, I think the album cover is even better. If anybody knows the name of the artist who did this piece, please drop it in the comments because I would like to give him/her props. This artwork inspired Snoop on his Doggystyle album and if I had it my way, I’d have one room in our small apartment painted with a mural of the artwork of Short Dog’s In The House and Doggystyle right next to each other. One day I’ll make it happen…
While Too Short was doing his thing in the 80’s and into the 90’s, there was also a sports movement in the Bay that I was quickly gravitating to. While the San Francisco 49ers were legendary, I was never a fan of them because Joe Montana and Jerry Rice were just too good. It was pretty much unfair. But while the 49ers were bubbling, so were what the Golden State Warriors and the trio of stars they had put together. Run TMC was comprised of Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullen. The fact that they were named after Run DMC caught my attention so I instantly became a fan of the Warriors whenever I saw their highlights or could catch them playing the Atlanta Hawks on TBS or the Chicago Bulls on WGN. Run TMC and their coach Don Nelson were the early blueprint for the Warriors teams of the 10’s that hustled up and down the court, put up a lot of shots, and scored tons of points. Run TMC and the Warriors out of the Bay Area were so dope.
But if you’re looking for one sports franchise outside of San Diego that made me a die hard fan it was none other than the Oakland Athletics. Living in San Diego, there weren’t interleague games back then in the MLB so the only way we’d be able to watch the Oakland A’s was through ESPN highlights, their static images on our baseball cards, and playoff baseball if they made it to October. The A’s really began to come into their own during the 1988 season when they won over 100 games under the tutelage of manager Tony LaRussa while fueled by the ace of their staff, Dave Stewart, the side-armed closer Dennis Eckersley and the young power hitting duo of Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. I had my man Too Short on the rap scene out of Oakland and now had my favorite American League team looking oh so clean in those green and yellow jerseys doing some baller type things constantly.
Jose Canseco got called up to the big leagues in 1985 and Mark McGwire followed him one year later. Jose got called nicknames like “Parkway Jose” and “The Natural” for the way that he would crush baseballs. Canseco won the Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award in 1985 for thrashing the minor leagues that year. Mark McGwire, aka “Big Mac”, was drafted 10th overall in 1984 and made his debut in 1986. It really wasn’t until his full rookie season of 1987 when McGwire went absolutely nuts to the tune of 49 bombs and 118 RBI’s. And then, one year later, Jose had something to say and went out and hit 42 bombs and stole 40 bags making him the first 40-40 player of all-time. Their duo was coined “The Bash Brothers” and their forearm smash could be seen in every little league game in the late 80’s. We all looked up to Canseco and McGwire. The city of Oakland gave us Too Short, the A’s, Run TMC, and so much more. While I will always be San Diego with everything I do, I have Oakland vibes running through my body and I will never hesitate from wearing it on my sleeve.
My older brother and I were all about Oakland and all about the Bay Area. Our family would go to Spring Training in Yuma, Arizona every year and one beautiful day in March my brother actually got to be a bat boy for the Oakland A’s. Todd got to rub elbows with all of the greats. I don’t know what year these pics below are from but Todd will for sure know. They look like they’re from 1990 or 1991. These pictures are everything! Bring a bat boy for the A’s was a dream realized for Todd. And you know what? He actually got a game used bat from Jose Canseco that still lives in his childhood room at our parents’ house. GOLD.
Yuma, AZ… Todd with bat in hand and Dave Stewart heading off to the mound
Look right above Todd’s head… RICKEY!!!!
Great pic of Dave Stewart! Look off in the distance for the dope brown Pads swag!
In 1989, the Oakland A’s put it all together and won the World Series over the San Francisco Giants in The Battle of the Bay. They made a key trade that season in reacquiring Rickey Henderson back from the New York Yankees and Rickey joined the Athletics squad in style. He swiped 77 total bags that year with 52 of them coming as a member of the A’s. Canseco was injured most of the regular season but showed up in the playoffs where it mattered most. McGwire did McGwire type things and Dave Stewart anchored the staff just like he always did. When I think of an ace of a pitching staff, I always think of “Smoke” because that’s what he was. Every 5th day you could count on him to give you a chance to win. The A’s were also carried by great players like Dave Henderson, Terry Steinbach, Dave Parker, Carney Lansford, The Eck, Mike Moore, and more! The Oakland A’s were awesome.
Oakland will always hold a special place in my heart. I got married a couple of years ago to a fine young Latina woman from Modesto who also grew up listening to Too Short while being a fan of the Oakland A’s. With a baby boy on the way, we will officially have a new San Diego Padres fan but he will also be an Oakland A’s fan. Different leagues so I think we’re good on that right?
When I first heard that ESPN would be running a special (Long Gone Summer) on McGwire and Sammy Sosa’s home run chase in 1998 it inspired me to put the pen to paper all about what Oakland means to me. While Big Mac was a member of the St. Louis Cardinals during the chase, he still had that Oakland A’s bloodlines in him while he hit crushed bombs. While a lot of the steroid guys cheated and that wasn’t right, some of these players were good guys and I don’t think that should ever be lost. McGwire to me was always one of those good guys. The 30 for 30 documentary airs tonight and I can’t wait to go back to ‘98 which was also the year that the Padres made it to the World Series only to get obliterated by the Yanks. Very special year in my life! I can only hope that they show some classic Oakland A’s footage from Big Mac when the doc airs.
Wood grain 1987 Topps design
Mark McGwire cards were always chase cards for me and my bro and this 1987 wood grain Topps rookie card is iconic. Sure there was the 1985 Topps Olympic Baseball Card that is his real rookie but this gets rookie card love too. I know how much Todd loves this year of Topps’ cards and this card so I bought him a rack pack of cards to see if he could actually pull a McGwire! Check out the video below for a nice blast from the past.
If you’re following the Topps Project 2020 movement you probably know all about Blake Jamieson and his dope pieces that have been released so far. Blake grew up in the Bay as well and some of his earliest memories were from going to the Oakland Coliseum to watch his hometown A’s and his favorite player Mark McGwire take the field. Blake is super personable and is putting out a bunch of great content right now so go check him out if you’re not up on him. Blake was a guest on The Fantasy Fix podcast a few days ago and it was a great listen giving you insights into his life and process of creating these awesome cards. Check it out to hear how Blake hustled his way to where he is now. Inspiring stuff!
It is only right to close out this article by paying homage to my main man Todd Shaw on one of my favorite songs of his. Shout out to the city of Oakland. It’s all good from Diego to the Bay!