ELMIRA, NY  — Officials at an upstate New York cemetery say someone keeps stealing a football from the grave of Ernie Davis, a college star who was the first black player to win the Heisman Trophy.

The football was discovered missing from its display case Thursday.

The ball has disappeared several times previously, only to turn up later on the cemetery grounds. Woodlawn Cemetery superintendent Tom Henegar says he suspects youthful pranksters.

Davis was an All-American at Syracuse. He won the Heisman in 1961, then died of leukemia in 1963 at age 23.

The ball at his Elmira grave has a mysterious origin. It first appeared on the headstone last summer. Officials don’t know who put it there, but they’ve treated the display with respect nonetheless.