Former NFL player Hardy Nickerson was moving to San Juan Capistrano, California, to start a new job as a high school football coach when the moving crew, while taking a break at a hotel, discovered that some of his items had been stolen from the moving truck while they slept through the night.
According to CBS News, the former linebacker and his family were moving from Oakland to San Juan Capistrano when the incident took place.
Most of the items taken were mementos from his 16-year NFL career, where he was a five-time Pro Bowl linebacker in the 1990s.
Last month, Nickerson was announced as the new head coach of the JSerra High School football program. He was recently the head coach of the CIF Division 5-AA State Champions at Bishop O’Dowd in Oakland. While moving to his new residence, a storm momentarily cut their trip short, so his family and the moving crew stopped at a Hampton Inn in Santa Clarita.
Upon waking the next morning, the crew discovered that the locks on the back of the truck had been cut and that some of Nickerson’s mementos from his NFL days were missing.
Some of the things taken were awards, football jerseys, and autographed helmet memorabilia.
Now, Nickerson is hoping that some of those items can be recovered and returned to him. He is asking that collectors be on the lookout for people trying to sell the valuable pieces to them.
“Hopefully, someone will see that if they’re trying to sell it and say, ‘Hey, wait a minute, I believe that was lost,’ or no, ‘Stolen!’” Nickerson said. “If it has my name on it, please get it back to me.”
He also said that if anyone comes across any of the memorabilia, they should contact him at Junipero Serra Catholic High School so the items can be returned to him.
Nickerson played in the NFL for over 15 years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Green Bay Packers. One of the highlights of his career is breaking a regular-season record for most combined tackles in a season with 214.
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