Mike Sparrell had no idea that his late father’s beloved Miami Dolphins helmet, signed by seven members of the undefeated 1972 team, was sitting in a brown paper bag at the Boynton Beach Police Department.
The helmet was stolen in a burglary at his father’s house in 2013. After three years, Sparrell figured he’d never see it again. It was a tough thing for the Sparrell family: they had given John Sparrell the helmet as a token of their appreciation for organizing family reunions. They’d all grown up watching the Dolphins.
What the Sparrells didn’t know, however, was that cops had found the helmet in a burglar’s house in Boynton Beach, police said, about two blocks away from John Sparrell’s house, days after the March 17, 2013 theft. But police didn’t know who owned it, and the headgear sat in evidence.
Two months after the burglary, John Sparrell, then 77, died.
So, on Wednesday, when Mike Sparrell found himself at the Boynton Beach Police Department, and former Dolphins lineman Larry Little walked in with the long-lost helmet, Sparrell could barely believe it. His jaw dropped, and a smile broke out over his face.
“Oh my God,” he said.
Little, an NFL Hall of Famer who played on the legendary 1972 team, had signed the helmet, along with Don Shula, Larry Csonka, Jim Langer, Mercury Morris, Jim Kiick and Garo Yepremian. Now, he was giving it back to Sparrell — a surprise touch in a Wednesday news conference at the police department.
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“I think what really means the most to me is that it was a piece of my father, and whenever I look at that, I’m going to remember all the times that we had together,” said Mike Sparrell, who lives near Lake Worth.
Little, who drove up from southwest Miami-Dade County, said he was glad to help.
“For him to lose his life not too long after it happened, it meant a great deal for me to be up here today and present him with the helmet,” Little said.
Mike Sparrell told Little of the years his family spent watching the Miami Dolphins dominate professional football.
“We tried doing the best we could back in those days,” Little said.
“The best you could was really, really awesome,” Mike Sparrell responded.
Mike Sparrell also recalled his late father’s reaction to the burglary. Shortly after the helmet was taken, he got a phone call from his dad, a huge Dolphins and sports fan. The elder Sparrell was devastated.
“He was so upset and he called and said, ‘I’m just so broken up. Someone broke into my house and took my helmet,'” Mike Sparrell said.
Eight days after the burglary, police found the helmet in the home of Schneider Joseph, then 19, while executing a search warrant there, police said. Joseph, a suspect in other burglaries unrelated to the helmet, was later convicted of grand theft, records show.
In Joseph’s room, police said they found an “extensive” amount of stolen items including the helmet.
Over three years later, on June 20, Boynton Beach police released pictures of the mystery Dolphins helmet in a bid to drum up leads.
It worked.
That same day, Mike Sparrell was driving home from Father’s Day weekend in Naples when he got a call from his brother in Orlando. Their late father’s girlfriend had seen the long-lost helmet on the news.
Mike Sparrell contacted Boynton Beach police, and sent over pictures to prove to investigators that the helmet had belonged to his father. Officer Eric Reynolds looked into police reports and confirmed Sparrell’s story checked out.
Police then arranged for Mike Sparrell to be reunited with the helmet in Wednesday’s press conference.
“We never thought we’d see this helmet back,” Mike Sparrell said.
Reynolds said he would check into whether the statute of limitations had run out — and if police would be able to file charges in the helmet theft.
Based on what he saw online, Reynolds said, the value of similar helmets ranges between $500 and $1,500.
But for the Sparrell family, it’s priceless.
Mike Sparrell said he plans to put the helmet in his office. He said his dad is thanking Officer Reynolds from above.
“I’d give him a big ol’ hug and say, we got it back dad.”
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