Hilltopper Head Football Coach Roger Waialae played a role in getting a Super Bowl ring returned to its rightful owner in a story that was covered by the Oprah Winfrey Network on Jan. 31, 2013.
“My cousin (Arviella Benavidis) called me from Hawaii in the fall and asked me to help out in getting the ring back to its owner, Jets’ center John Schmitt. Arviella heard about the ring at her church where a member was working to find the owner after inheriting it from her great uncle who had been a lifeguard on Waikiki Beach and found it there. I was in the middle of the football season and was really busy but I called the Jets scout that had been here on campus looking at our players. We talked and he told me to call the Jets front office.”
“I gave the information to the secretary there and she followed up and got the ring returned. I then told my cousin that someone would get in touch with Mr. Schmitt soon. That was the last I heard of it till now.”
The ring was presented to Mr. Schmitt after it had been missing for 41 years and the story became a feature on Oprah’s website.
View the entire episode on Oprah.com’s Lost and Found series by clicking here.