Ring Stolen from Walter Payton Museum

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Mar 29, 2006 2:56PM

What's even worse than stealing? When you don't steal from the dead. Or stealing from a local legend. And yet, somebody recently stole a replica of Walter Payton's Super Bowl XX championship ring from his eponymous museum in suburban Aurora recently. Not even the real thing, the ring was still valued at $3,500.00.

Sometime between 3 and 10pm on Monday, the ring thief smashed the display case and took the ring from the museum, which is part of the Walter Payton's Roundhouse complex. In addition to the museum, the Roundhouse also includes a brewpub, club, coffee house and other entertainment facilities.

While the sticky-fingered ring-stealer got away with a copy of Payton's ring, the original remains safely with his family. However, that hadn't always been the case. The replica was created after his original ring was lost by a Hoffman Estates student-athlete, to whom the ring was loaned in 1996. In 2001, nearly six years later, it turned up in the couch of a Purdue student, and was returned to his widow Connie. Chicagoist searched our couch but, alas, found no Super Bowl rings. Not even an Olympic medal. We did find 17 cents and a pen swiped from a hotel. But you're allowed to take those...