Tuesday, April 7, 1998

Integral facts are muddied in Super Bowl ring mystery

By Frank Luksa

Dallas Morning News

(KRT)

DALLAS -- The story of the Super Bowl ring found at the bottom of a Texas lake was first told to me by Carlton Stowers, the acclaimed author of true-crime novels. As a professional aside, allow me to note that Stowers was thoroughly schooled to write about law-breakers.

He used to cover the Cowboys.

Indeed, the tale begins with a Cowboys twist. The ring was said to belong to Billy Joe DuPree, three-time Pro Bowl tight end (1973-83) for Tom Landry. And sure enough, DuPree lost his Super Bowl XII ring years ago.

But that is getting ahead of the plot, confusion and subsequent mystery.

Stowers encountered the lost-ring story by accident, a carryover modus from his newspaper days. He was writing a magazine article in San Antonio about Doc Rivers, the NBA sidekick-analyst of Verne Lundquist, another former local at Channel 8 who adds name-dropping quality to the prelude.

Rivers' home had been trashed and set afire by persons unknown but believed to be neighborhood punks. Doc's losses included personal memorabilia from his playing career in the NBA. Which reminded Tommy Sing, arson investigator for the state of Texas assigned to the Rivers case, of how he learned that DuPree's ring had been recovered from nearby Canyon Lake.

Sing told Stowers, who told me:

Sing had a friend who pursued underwater diving for recreation. This fellow nosed about the bottom of lakes and ponds like a catfish, discovering all manner of... in this case, the dull glint of a small object that caught his eye.

Sing's friend brought the mud-caked object to the surface. After brushing and cleaning, he was able to identify it. Lo, a Super Bowl ring belonging to DuPree. Whereupon, he contacted DuPree and returned the missing bauble to him.

What a weird story of coincidence, blessed luck and finder's who don't remain keepers of a valuable property. Better yet, it turned out to be at least half-true. Given a twist, maybe it's entirely accurate, but no one will ever know. There's a mix-up somewhere.

I replayed the story for DuPree and he said, yep, he once mislaid his Super Bowl ring and got it back. However, his version departed from the one told to Sing. He lost the ring on dry land - a country club fairway. And that happened in Arizona rather than South Texas.

DuPree's account went like this:

He removed his ring and placed it in his golf bag before teeing off during a Charley Pride celebrity event in Albuquerque. Back in Dallas days later, DuPree listened to a message on his telephone recorder.

"I have something of yours that you might be interested in," the voice said, and left a number. DuPree dialed the number. The voice asked: Are you missing your Super Bowl ring? DuPree put down the phone, found his golf bag, emptied the contents. No ring.

"You are right, kind sir," said BJ. I have it, said the man, and explained his method of discovery. He lived near the course, took a walk on an adjacent fairway, and stepped on the thing.

DuPree's ring was returned via the mail by his unseen benefactor. Now for the post-script. Much time passed until DuPree sat down for a luncheon date in Dallas. A stranger approached his table from across the room.

"You don't remember me, do you?" said the man.

"No sir, afraid I don't," said BJ.

"I'm the guy who found your ring six years ago."

I called Sing again to tell him DuPree's amended version of the lost-ring tale. I asked Sing to put me in touch with his underwater diving friend. He said that wasn't possible.

"He's dead," said Sing, supplying the final, bizarre twist to a twisted story. He died in a parking lot after attending a San Antonio Spurs game. Sing's pal intervened in an argument and led a group of fans who began to chase the offender. The person being pursued stopped, whipped out a gun and killed him with a single shot.

The story ends on an incomplete note. I checked with Valley Ranch. No one had heard of a Super Bowl ring found at the bottom of a lake. Had Sing misunderstood the name of the Cowboys player? For an investigator trained to absorb facts, that sounds doubtful. Did Sing's friend concoct the story? We'll never know.

DuPree supplied the most suitable conclusion.

"If somebody finds another Super Bowl ring," he said, "tell 'em to send it to me."

(c) 1998, The Dallas Morning News.

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