Friday, December 9, 2005
La. Senate sergeant-at-arms' Super Bowl rings stolen
Associated Press
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Burglars kicked in a former NFL player's
door and stole his rings from Super Bowls I and IV.
Frank Pitts, a Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver from 1965-71, is
now a sergeant-at-arms for the Louisiana Senate. When he heard
about the theft, he said, "I had to stop a minute. I said, `My
goodness!"
Pitts, 62, an Atlanta native who was drafted out of Southern
University, said he and his wife, Dianne, believe the burglars hit
late Thursday morning.
"She told me they literally kicked the hinge off the back
door," he said.
He said the rings had been in the second drawer of his bedroom
dresser, which was dumped on his bed. Burglars also took a
television set from the den, "trashed" another bedroom but passed
on other football keepsakes in the living room, Pitts said.
Pitts said he often wore a Super Bowl ring on each pinky, but
left them home Thursday because his fingers were slightly swollen.
He said the Super Bowl IV ring, from the Chiefs' 23-7 win over
the Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans' Tulane Stadium in 1970, is
valued at $15,000 to $20,000. The ring from Super Bowl I, which the
Chiefs lost to the Green Bay Packers, is worth $8,000 to $9,000.
Pitts was the Chiefs' fourth-round draft choice in 1965. After
six years in Kansas City, he played for the Cleveland Browns, the
Oakland Raiders and the Atlanta Falcons.
His later jobs included coaching positions at Southern
University and East Ascension High School. Pitts has been a
sergeant-at-arms for the Senate for the past two years.
The Super Bowl IV ring includes his name and jersey number 25.
"I still find it strange that someone would want them," Pitts
said.
