THE SIDELINES : Autographed Baseballs Stolen

Forty-four autographed baseballs and five shotguns were stolen in a weekend burglary at the home of former major-league baseball player and manager Bill Virdon.

Investigators said that Virdon, now a coach with the Pittsburgh Pirates, was gone when the break-in occurred Saturday and that it was not reported immediately.

The stolen items included baseballs autographed by Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Billy Martin and others. They also included autographed baseballs from the 1960 World Series and several All-Star games.

Virdon played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1950s and 1960s and spent 13 seasons as a manager with Pittsburgh, the New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Montreal Expos.