Joseph Toney: The man behind the name, a quick bio.

Well, let me tell ya ’bout this fella, Joseph Toney. Folks say he’s the real daddy of that big basketball fella, Shaquille O’Neal. You know, that Shaq fella, the one who’s always on TV. Big guy, real big.

Joseph Toney, yeah, that’s his name. Born way back in 1951, May 19th to be exact. Now, I ain’t no fancy calendar-lookin’ person, but that was a long time ago, ya hear? He’s kinda famous ‘cause of Shaq, I reckon. But from what I hear, he wasn’t around much when Shaq was growin’ up.

See, Toney, he went off to jail for a spell. Six years, they say. Left Shaq and his mama all alone. That ain’t right, leavin’ your family like that. A man’s gotta be there for his kids, that’s what I say. But things happen, I guess. Life ain’t always easy, especially for folks like us.

• Toney gave Shaq his name, that’s somethin’ at least.
• Shaq’s real tall, taller than his mama and daddy, too. Toney was 6’1″ and Shaq’s mama was 6’2″. Shaq got even taller than that! Must be somethin’ in the water, ha!
• Toney played basketball some too, just like Shaq’s stepdaddy. Guess basketball runs in the family, kinda. Even played against Shaq’s stepdaddy once. Small world, ain’t it?

Now, Shaq, he got raised up by another man, a fella named Harrison. A sergeant in the army, they say. Tough fella, real strict. But he was good to Shaq, raised him right. Shaq says he had a good relationship with him. That’s important, havin’ a good father figure. Toney mighta given Shaq his name, but Harrison, he made Shaq the man he is today. That’s what counts, right?

Shaq, he says he didn’t meet Toney ’til he was older, maybe seven or so. Even though Toney said he never met Shaq when he was a kid. Who knows what the truth is? These stories, they get all mixed up over time. Like a ball of yarn, all tangled and messy.

Folks talk about Toney bein’ Shaq’s biological daddy. Big word, that “biological”. Just means he’s the one who made Shaq, you know? But bein’ a daddy is more than just makin’ a baby. It’s about bein’ there, raisin’ ‘em, teachin’ ‘em right from wrong. That’s what I think, anyways. Toney and Shaq, they parted ways when Shaq was just a baby. That’s a shame, that is.

And that name, Joseph, it’s an old name. Comes from some kinda Hebrew word, they say. Means somethin’ about addin’ on. Don’t quite understand it myself, but it sounds important. Maybe Toney added something to Shaq’s life just by bein’ his daddy, even if he wasn’t around much. Who am I to say? Every family’s different.

Shaq, he turned out alright, though. Became a big basketball star, made lots of money. Successful businessman, too. Guess he overcame all that hardship. Shows you can make somethin’ of yourself, even if you had a rough start. That’s the American dream, ain’t it? Work hard and you can be somethin’. Even if your daddy wasn’t around.

So, that’s the story of Joseph Toney, as far as I know it. A fella who gave his name to a famous basketball player, but wasn’t there to see him grow up. Life’s funny that way, ain’t it? You never know how things are gonna turn out.

Tags: [Joseph Toney, Shaquille O’Neal, Shaq, Biological Father, NBA, Basketball, Family, Fatherhood, Sgt. Harrison]