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I thought this might interest some of you as we support St. Judes. Lyle '83 Orange Bowl ring reunited with owner Posted: Feb 26, 2009 02:45 PM CST Updated: Feb 26, 2009 07:12 PM CST http://wafb.images.worldnow.com/images/static/video/gfx/icon_video.gif'83 Orange Bowl ring reunited with owner, Hannah Horne reportshttp://wafb.images.worldnow.com/images/static/gfx/pxl_trans.gif http://wistv.images.worldnow.com/images/9912507_BG1.jpghttp://wafb.images.worldnow.com/images/static/gfx/pxl_trans.gifhttp://wafb.images.worldnow.com/images/static/gfx/c_al_tl.gifAlso on WAFB.comhttp://wafb.images.worldnow.com/images/static/gfx/blt_relatedlink.gifclassmates.comhttp://wafb.images.worldnow.com/images/static/gfx/blt_relatedlink.giffacebook.comhttp://wafb.images.worldnow.com/images/static/gfx/blt_relatedlink.gifmyspace.comhttp://wafb.images.worldnow.com/images/static/gfx/blt_relatedlink.gifzabasearch.comhttp://wafb.images.worldnow.com/images/static/gfx/pxl_trans.gif COLULMBIA, SC (WIS) - Dottie Martin of Elgin called WIS News 10 in Columbia with a most unusual request. She found a ring, and wanted help finding its owner. So WIS' Hannah Horne started digging. She loves a good mystery, and jewelry, so this story was perfect for her. After months of searching on her own, Dottie needed help finding the rightful owner of a ring. And it's not just any ring. With only a few clues, Hannah tackled the task at hand. The 1983 Orange Bowl ring, once a treasure, was discarded as trash, until Dottie Martin of Elgin found it. "Some boxes I'd bought from flea markets." Dottie said she "don't even know when or where." It was "jewelry, old junk jewelry," she explained. Looking closer, Dottie knew it was not junk with the orange stone, the letters 'LSU' and the engraved name inside. The ring belonged to former LSU defensive back Jeffery Dale. Dale played in the 1983 Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. But those were the only few clues. "All I could find from the internet was a bio of where he had been, but I could not find him now." Dale went on to play in the NFL for the San Diego Chargers in 1985. When the national spotlight dimmed, the trail went cold. That's when she called, asking for help. Hannah tried the internet, searching Google and phone books. She called and wrote to alumni and friends at LSU for help. Traces of Jeffery Dale were found in seven states, from east to west coasts. After two weeks of searching, a popular social networking site sent Hannah right to him. Classmates.com links together high school friends. A quick search of his name, and jackpot, Hannah found photos, information and friends. It was the break, or click, she needed to get in touch with him. Jeffery Dale traveled from his Memphis, Tennessee, home to Columbia to meet Dottie Martin and be reunited with his football heirloom. Jeffery remembers losing the ring in a Columbia restaurant bathroom. It happened in 2001, when he lived in Columbia and worked at Baptist Hospital. "It hurt my heart when I lost it," he said. "A couple of times, I thought about calling LSU and having it remade." There's no way of knowing how the ring got to the flea market, but a grandmother's heart got it back to the elusive Jeffery Dale. "I know how important great achievements in life are to pass along to your children," she said. And that ring comes full circle. "Getting this is like getting it all over again. It's like having it for the first time. I'll remember this just as well as the first time I got it, that's because of Miss Dottie and I appreciate that. I really do." Jeffery Dale is now a director at St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Wearing the ring again, he said it makes him feel like he could get back on the football field. Posted by Bryce Mursch
