PHOENIX, Ore. – A long-lost high school state championship ring was recently dug up by a metal detector on the shores of Emigrant Lake.
The ring commemorated the undefeated championship season of the 1998 Phoenix Pirates, and belonged to star First Baseman Drew Pierson, who tragically passed away several years ago.
He had lost the ring in 1999 at the lake with some friends.
His former teammate and the star Shortstop on that championship team, Aaron hull, remembers Drew fondly.
“Drew is a good memory, he was this big lefty first baseman. He was kinda our big clown. So he was always [happy] go-lucky, free caring, just a super awesome kid and a great guy,” Hull said.
Aaron and Drew’s names are not hard to find around Phoenix High.
Their individual records still stand.
Aaron still remembers the end of their magical undefeated season like it was yesterday.
“To this day I still remember our second baseman catching that final ball, and then it didn’t really click until you started seeing hands up in the air and people running in the same direction, and you’re like, ‘oh wow, we did it.’ I mean I still have our picture up in my office of our team,” Hull said.
Aaron is back at Phoenix High School now, where he’s the School Resource Officer.
Coming back to Phoenix High gave him the opportunity to reunite with Drew’s parents and return his former teammate’s ring.
“It was tough and it was easy at the same time, it was something that was important to them. Their family was always close with us and my family and as a team, we all grew up together. And so getting that particular item back to his parents was really really special to them, it was emotional and they needed it, we needed it,” Hull said.
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