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Hank Stram ring up for auction

A Super Bowl championship ring owned by legendary Kansas City Chiefs coach Hank Stram will be available to the highest bidder.

The online auction starts Wednesday and runs through Dec. 6.

"Hank is just an iconic coach that so many of us remember," Rick Kohl, president and CEO of North Carolina-based Worthridge Auctions, said. "I would love to see a Chiefs fan buy this."

The ring is one of two Stram received for Super Bowl IV. Josten's presented the ring in the auction and Stram approved of its design, even going on to wear it. The auctioned ring, however, is not the official one Stram received for winning the Super Bowl. That one remains with his family.

"There has been recent speculation regarding my father, Coach Hank Stram, and his Super Bowl ring that was awarded to him after the 1970 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV," Dale A. Stram, the son of Hank, said in a statement Thursday. "Upon his death, my father bequeathed his awarded Super Bowl IV ring to me. I am presently the sole and legal owner of the ring, which remains in my possession. This is an unequivocal statement that I treasure my father's Super Bowl IV ring and I will retain it for my lifetime."

Kohl wouldn't disclose how much he paid for the ring, but said he believes the ring could command at least $40,000.

Stram's Chiefs won the AFL title in 1962, 1966 and 1969 and beat the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV following the 1969 season.

Stram was hand picked by AFL founder Lamar Hunt to coach his team, the Dallas Texans in 1960. Stram coached the team, which moved to Kansas City and became the Chiefs in 1963, until 1974.

Stram, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003, passed away in July 2005 at the age of 82.

Other items in the Worthridge auction include Reggie White's 1992 Pro Bowl uniform and Walter Payton's high school letterman jacket.