WHEN HE PLAYED in the NFL, a lot of kids idolized William "Refrigerator" Perry.
Now, it's his turn to look up to a youngster.
On Saturday, 10-year-old Cliff Forrest, of Pittsburgh, returned the Super Bowl XX ring Perry had won as a member of the 1985 Bears.
That was the game in which the Fridge, a defensive tackle, switched over to the offense and scored on a 1-yard run to help lift the Bears to a 46-10 win over the Patriots.
Forrest had dipped into his college fund to buy the ring for $8,500 at a memorabilia counter at Mickey Mantle's restaurant in New York City.
But when he read up on Perry, he knew what he had to do.
"I Googled Mr. Perry and saw that he had a disease [Guillain-Barre syndrome] and had to sell [the ring] because of rough times," Forrest told the Chicago Sun-Times. "He only played in one Super Bowl. I thought he would want it more than I did."
So Forrest flew to Chicago with his family and personally handed the ring to the Fridge, who was doing an autograph signing.
Like everyone, Forrest's mom, Tracy was touched by her son's gesture.
"My son said he knew [Perry] had problems," Tracy told ESPNChicago.com. "I myself have MS, and my son Googled and saw Perry also had an autoimmune disease.
"He said Perry lost the ring through hard times, and that he only had one ring. He said, 'I want him to have the ring back.' That's pretty special for a 10-year-old to want to do that."
Perry, who played 24 games with the Eagles (1993-94) after a 9-year career with the Bears, was reportedly stunned by the boy's generosity.
While Cliff Forrest didn't want or expect anything in return, the 48-year-old Fridge graciously provided the youngster with two autographed Bears jerseys and some cards.
"It was exciting," Cliff said. "He looked really happy. He said, 'Thanks.' "
- Tom Mahon
Send email to highandinside@phillynews.com
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