This was a game of telephone in which the news never changed Tuesday night into Wednesday morning: Former Giants linebacker Brad Van Pelt, a five-time Pro Bowler from 1973-83, was found dead of an apparent heart attack by his fiancee, Deanna, in the home they recently purchased in Owosso, Mich. He was 57.
Deanna called Van Pelt's long-time teammate and friend, Harry Carson, at his New Jersey home to ask for the Hall of Famer's help. Carson soon called Brian Kelley, a third member of their linebacker crew known as the "Crunch Bunch" on some dreadful teams in the '70s and early '80s. Only the '81 Giants made the playoffs during Van Pelt's career.
From former Giants coach Bill Parcells to Hall-of-Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor, the reaction was stunned disbelief that the man they knew as a blond Adonis was gone.
"It was total devastation," Kelley told the Star-Ledger. "I've known Brad since '73 -- 36 years. I've known him longer than my wife and my kids."More importantly, longer as a friend than a teammate.
"Football was 11 years of our life," Kelley said. "We had 25 other years when we were together, did things together and still are doing them together, us and LT and Harry Carson."
Like their annual trips to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. Or the journey the foursome took to Puebla, Mexico, in 2004 to help 3,000 volunteers build houses for "Habitat for Humanity," the international nonprofit housing ministry.
"It's sort of like losing a limb because the four of us are so close," Kelley said. "To lose one of us is tough. It's even tough to believe it happened. ... I'm just going to miss him, miss seeing him at Giants games, miss him calling me about stupid stuff."
The feeling was mutual. In 2004, Van Pelt said, "I feel as comfortable with (Carson, Kelley and Taylor) as I do with my brothers. Obviously, your brothers are your brothers. But these three are probably the closest thing to them. Brian and I played 11 years together. I played nine with Harry. Lawrence being the guy (he is), it didn't take long for him to fit right in and become one of the guys. I can't really explain why but they're the only three I stay close with."
When Kelley called him with the news Tuesday night, all Taylor could muster was, "No, no, no."
Carson's calls elicited similar sentiments. Parcells only coached Van Pelt for three seasons -- two as the Giants' defensive coordinator in '81 and '82 and as their head coach in '83 -- but appreciates how much the linebackers he inherited have impacted his career.
"I was telling Harry how much something like this hurts when it happens, particularly to a counterpart and a close friend," Parcells told the Star-Ledger by cellphone from the Dolphins complex in Miami. "In the last few years, I've had a reasonable amount of contact with him. I've probably been him three or four times in the last three, four years. We had some conversation about some things.
"He was a happy-go-lucky fella, very playful. And he was one of the premier strong-side linebackers in the league. And that 'No. 10' was unique as well."
Very true. Van Pelt was a super-sized safety at Michigan St. when the Giants drafted him in the second round of the '73 NFL Draft. He had worn No. 10 his entire sporting life as a three-sport star in high school and a star pitcher and football player for the Spartans. Although linebackers are supposed to wear numbers in the 50s or 90s, Van Pelt was allowed to wear 10 because the Giants listed him a their back-up kicker.
"It helped my career," Van Pelt said. "I started to get to be a better linebacker and I started getting noticed a little more -- in that number, they couldn't forget it. 10 just doesn't belong out there on defense. It was a lucky number for me. I was very fortunate the Giants allowed me to have it."
But to his closest friends, Van Pelt was so much more than a number or a linebacker.
Said Carson: "I am just so glad that I got to know the man more so than the athlete."
Van Pelt played 14 seasons in the NFL. After leaving the Giants, he was with the Los Angeles Raiders from 1984-85 and the Cleveland Browns in '86. He played in 184 regular season games and had 20 interceptions and 24 1/2 sacks.