Zoneboy
02-18-2009, 12:50 PM
Link (http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/2009/02/18/2009-02-18_giants_pro_bowl_linebacker_brad_van_pelt.html)
Giants great Brad Van Pelt is dead of an apparent heart attack at age 57.
He was found slumped in his chair by his fiancée Tuesday at the house they recently purchase together in Michigan, according to teammate Harry Carson.
"I'm saddened," Carson told the Daily News. "I lost a teammate and my very good friend, He went much too soon at 57."
Van Pelt and Carson, together with Lawrence Taylor and Brian Kelley, formed the Crunch Bunch, considered one of the top linebacking corps in Giants history.
Although he enjoyed just one winning season and one playoff season in 11 years with the Giants (1973-83), he was voted the team's Player of the Decade for the 1970s.
He was a five-time Pro Bowl selection.
He finished his NFL career by playing two seasons with the Los Angeles Raiders and another with the Cleveland Browns before retiring in 1986. He finished with 20 interceptions and, unofficially, 24 1/2 sacks.
Van Pelt was a two-time All Ameerica at Michigan State and the 1972 winner of the Maxwell Award as the nation's best player. He was inducted into the college Hall of Fame in 2001 and nominated for the NFL Hall of Fame in 2005.
Giants great Brad Van Pelt is dead of an apparent heart attack at age 57.
He was found slumped in his chair by his fiancée Tuesday at the house they recently purchase together in Michigan, according to teammate Harry Carson.
"I'm saddened," Carson told the Daily News. "I lost a teammate and my very good friend, He went much too soon at 57."
Van Pelt and Carson, together with Lawrence Taylor and Brian Kelley, formed the Crunch Bunch, considered one of the top linebacking corps in Giants history.
Although he enjoyed just one winning season and one playoff season in 11 years with the Giants (1973-83), he was voted the team's Player of the Decade for the 1970s.
He was a five-time Pro Bowl selection.
He finished his NFL career by playing two seasons with the Los Angeles Raiders and another with the Cleveland Browns before retiring in 1986. He finished with 20 interceptions and, unofficially, 24 1/2 sacks.
Van Pelt was a two-time All Ameerica at Michigan State and the 1972 winner of the Maxwell Award as the nation's best player. He was inducted into the college Hall of Fame in 2001 and nominated for the NFL Hall of Fame in 2005.