The real owner of O.J. Simpson's 1968 Heisman Trophy has been revealed.
ESPN's Ryan McGee reported Monday night that Tom Kriessman, who bought Simpson's trophy for $255,000 at an auction in 1999, admitted his original story that the trophy was in his possession and in a Philadelphia bank vault was false:
"Tom Kriessman, the Philadelphia sheet-metal wholesaler who purchased that trophy at auction for $255,000, reneged his previous account published as part of an ESPN story on the subject and says the trophy is now in the hands of 53-year-old Rick Reviglio, president and general manager of a successful construction wholesale supplier and one of Reno's highest-profile citizens.
"Reviglio and Kriessman say Simpson's trophy was purchased in secret nearly one year ago and is now on display as the centerpiece of Reviglio's expansive, private, sports memorabilia collection."
The amount exchanged between Kriessman and Reviglio is unknown.
Reviglio's memorabilia collection includes the chair Bobby Knight threw in 1985, a stick used by USA Hockey to score on the Soviet Union in the "Miracle On Ice" game of 1980 and a baseball signed by an unnamed pope, per McGee, who noted Simpson's Heisman "had always been [Reviglio's] white whale."
Unlike Kriessman, Reviglio told McGee he has "no interest in selling."
Simpson was named the Heisman as a sophomore running back at USC. That season, he rushed for 1,880 yards and 23 touchdowns across 11 games.
The 72-year-old resides in the Las Vegas area after serving nine years in Nevada's Lovelock Correctional Center for a 2007 kidnapping and armed robbery that occurred in Vegas. Simpson was released on Oct. 2, 2017.
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