A Super Bowl ring once belonging to long-time Bay Area resident Bob Heinz, who was part of the Miami Dolphins’ famed No-Name Defense, sold last week at auction for $68,004.
According to sports memorabilia distributor Ken Goldin it was the first time a Miami player’s ring for the 1972 or ’73 championships was offered in a public sale. The Dolphins went 17-0 in 1972 to become the only NFL team to go undefeated in the regular season.
Heinz, a Peninsula advertising executive for three decades, had sold the ring within the past year to a private collector, who offered it through Goldin Auctions at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago last week.
A person from Florida bought the ring — “I assume he is a Dolphins’ fan,” Goldin said Tuesday.
Heinz, 68, described his decision to sell the ring as a “personal matter.” Now living in Fresno, the former defensive tackle declined to comment further, saying he didn’t want attention about his heralded career.
Heinz is a former University of the Pacific Hall of Fame player who retired in 1978 after playing two games with Washington. The 6-foot-6 lineman from Stockton played with the Dolphins from 1969-77 after Miami selected him in the second round of the NFL draft.
Heinz then started a second career as a Bay Area advertising executive while living in Menlo Park and Campbell for 35 years.
Players of the 1973 Dolphins received a specially designed 10-karat gold ring with two diamonds representing their back-to-back Super Bowl titles. The ring had 22 bids, starting at $10,000. Goldin said the winning bid was more than he had expected.
Goldin also sold the 1994 Super Bowl ring of former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo for $26,730 at the same auction.
Goldin plans to sell more Super Bowl rings next year to coincide with Super Bowl 50, scheduled for Feb. 7 at Levi’s Stadium. He already has four rings lined up for the auction that will end the week after the Super Bowl.
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