Cool story...
Former A's employee to receive long lost World Series ring
By JANIE McCAULEY, AP Sports Writer
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Sharon Kelly figured she would never again see the stolen 1989 World Series ring she earned as a member of the Oakland Athletics' front office staff nearly two decades ago.
On Sunday, her lost keepsake will be back in her possession -- all thanks to a man determined to teach his two sons a lesson about doing the right thing. Kelly will meet Robert Woehl before the A's finish a seven-game homestand in the series finale with the Minnesota Twins.
"I can't believe it myself," Kelly said from Reno, Nev., where she now lives and owns a consignment furniture store. "It's like the ring was destined to come back to me."
Woehl, an Oakland native and lifelong A's fan now living about an hour away in Tracy, Calif., landed the winning bid of $3,500 on Kelly's ring on the auction Web site eBay last August. He didn't know it was stolen at the time of the purchase.
But after making his purchase and getting a scolding from his wife, this spring Woehl decided the ring should be returned to the team for charity. Two months ago, he contacted the organization and set up a meeting. That's when he learned the ring had been stolen.
"There wasn't a hesitation on my wife's and my part," Woehl said. "We'd like to return it to the person who it was wrongfully taken from. It's neat that it's come full circle."
The A's examined the jewelry to determine its authenticity and noticed Kelly's name engraved on the inside. That's when Ken Pries, A's vice president of broadcasting and communications, suggested to Woehl that he might want to return the ring directly to Kelly, the team's former director of promotions from 1981-93.
"He agreed to do it," Kelly said. "That's amazing to me."
Kelly had heard a while back from a former colleague that her ring had been spotted on a man at a party. That man said he purchased an East Bay pawn shop that had the ring in its inventory. Kelly contacted the man, who wanted more than $7,000 for it.
"I wasn't in a position to pay that, and second of all it was my ring," she said.
It was taken from Kelly's home one night in 1994 when her son had a party. They filed a police report but had no luck locating the ring.
Woehl, a 40-year-old consultant, is determined to give his sons -- 12-year-old Hayden and 5-year-old Nathan -- a positive life lesson.
"We didn't earn the ring," Woehl said. "She did, through her hard work with the A's. I look forward to seeing the expression on her face."
By JANIE McCAULEY, AP Sports Writer
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Sharon Kelly figured she would never again see the stolen 1989 World Series ring she earned as a member of the Oakland Athletics' front office staff nearly two decades ago.
On Sunday, her lost keepsake will be back in her possession -- all thanks to a man determined to teach his two sons a lesson about doing the right thing. Kelly will meet Robert Woehl before the A's finish a seven-game homestand in the series finale with the Minnesota Twins.
"I can't believe it myself," Kelly said from Reno, Nev., where she now lives and owns a consignment furniture store. "It's like the ring was destined to come back to me."
Woehl, an Oakland native and lifelong A's fan now living about an hour away in Tracy, Calif., landed the winning bid of $3,500 on Kelly's ring on the auction Web site eBay last August. He didn't know it was stolen at the time of the purchase.
But after making his purchase and getting a scolding from his wife, this spring Woehl decided the ring should be returned to the team for charity. Two months ago, he contacted the organization and set up a meeting. That's when he learned the ring had been stolen.
"There wasn't a hesitation on my wife's and my part," Woehl said. "We'd like to return it to the person who it was wrongfully taken from. It's neat that it's come full circle."
The A's examined the jewelry to determine its authenticity and noticed Kelly's name engraved on the inside. That's when Ken Pries, A's vice president of broadcasting and communications, suggested to Woehl that he might want to return the ring directly to Kelly, the team's former director of promotions from 1981-93.
"He agreed to do it," Kelly said. "That's amazing to me."
Kelly had heard a while back from a former colleague that her ring had been spotted on a man at a party. That man said he purchased an East Bay pawn shop that had the ring in its inventory. Kelly contacted the man, who wanted more than $7,000 for it.
"I wasn't in a position to pay that, and second of all it was my ring," she said.
It was taken from Kelly's home one night in 1994 when her son had a party. They filed a police report but had no luck locating the ring.
Woehl, a 40-year-old consultant, is determined to give his sons -- 12-year-old Hayden and 5-year-old Nathan -- a positive life lesson.
"We didn't earn the ring," Woehl said. "She did, through her hard work with the A's. I look forward to seeing the expression on her face."