HAPPY HOUR: Wheaton Police Officer Goes Extra Mile to Return Autographed Baseball to Young Owner

Photo: City of Wheaton

It may have taken over a year, but a little boy has a valuable piece of baseball memorabilia back!

The City of Wheaton shared a story on their social media pages chronicling the lost Nolan Ryan-signed baseball. It was found at a park in Wheaton in July of 2021. Thankfully, a good Samaritan turned it into police. Unfortunately, no one came to claim the ball and it sat in the possession of the Wheaton Police Department all this time.

During a recent audit of the thousands of items in police possession, Officer Brian Lepowski, a former college baseball player himself, took note of the autographed ball and decided to do a bit of digging to see if he can track down the owner. With help from the Wheaton Park District, he found out who was playing at the aforementioned park on the day it was turned in and called the coach of the team. As it turns out, the ball belonged to the son of the coach!