Brad Van Pelt Brad Alan Van Pelt ( April 5 , 1951February 17 , 2009 ) was an American football linebacker who played fourteen seasons in the National Football League . A two - time All - American ( 1971 , 1972 ) and the 1972 Maxwell Award winner as college football ' s best player , he was drafted by the New York Giants , earning five Pro Bowl selections at linebacker between 1976 to 1980 during his ten years with the team . He rounded out his career with the Los Angeles Raiders from 1984 to 1985 , and the Cleveland Browns in 1986 . Van Pelt is the father of former Denver Broncos and Houston Texans quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt . Early years . Van Pelt attended " Owosso High School " which was a member of the Big Nine Conference in Owosso , Michigan . Dean Howe covered high school sports for the Flint Journal and recalled an incident involving Van Pelt : " He was like a man among boys . He was about 6 - 5 , 220 . One night , his coach from Owosso called in and said he got 32 rebounds in a game . I didn ' t put that in the paper . I didn ' t believe that . So , the next game I went out when they played Davison and I just counted his rebounds and he got ( 42 ) . He was just so dominant . " In 1969 he was named all - state as a quarterback and first - team all - league in basketball , baseball and two ways in football . The Detroit Tigers and California Angels tried to sign Van Pelt directly out of high school , but he declined . College career . He played college football at nearby Michigan State University where he was a two - time All - America n at safety , in 1971 and 1972 and also won the Maxwell Award as the nation ' s best player , the first time a defensive back won the award . He was also named Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year and Columbus Touchdown Club Defensive Player of the Year . His career coincided with the last three years of the tenure of legendary Spartans coach Duffy Daugherty . In his college career , Van Pelt had fourteen interceptions returning two of them for touchdowns . He followed his senior season playing in the East - West Shrine Game , the Hula Bowl , and the College All - Star Game . Van Pelt also played basketball and baseball at MSU , earning a total of seven varsity letters . Professional career . As a member of the Giants , Van Pelt was a member of the Crunch Bunch , a team of fierce linebackers composed of Van Pelt , Brian Kelley , Lawrence Taylor , and Harry Carson . The group is widely considered one of the best linebacking combos in NFL history . He was also named the player of the decade for the 1970s by the Giants . During his 11 - year career with the franchise , the Giants posted a winning record only once , in 1981 , when New York reached the playoffs for the only time in a 20 - year stretch between 1964 and 1983 . Van Pelt also has the unusual distinction of playing for the franchise in four different home stadiums : Yankee Stadium , the Yale Bowl , Shea Stadium , and Giants Stadium . He also played for five Giants head coaches : Alex Webster , Bill Arnsparger , John McVay , Ray Perkins , and Bill Parcells . Van Pelt wore number 10 with the Giants , his college number , even though the NFL instituted a Jersey numbering system for the 1973 NFL season , which limited linebackers entering the league to numbers 50 through 59 . He was allowed to wear 10 because he was the backup kicker in his rookie year . Van Pelt wore number 91 with the Raiders and wore number 50 with the Browns . Post NFL . In addition to being teammates , the four Crunch Bunch members were close friends . They knew each other longer as buddies than as players and frequently talked on the phone , played golf and attended memorabilia signing events . Van Pelt was quoted in 2004 : " 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 . " The Crunch Bunch went to Puebla , Mexico on October 26 , 2004 , to promote Habitat for Humanity and assist 3 , 000 volunteers who were building 150 houses . While there , they met and talked with former president Jimmy Carter and his wife , Rosalynn . Van Pelt went back to school to complete coursework for his degree in 1998 and in 2000 , he was elected to the Sports Hall of Fame at Michigan State University . In 2001 , Van Pelt was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in the class with Steve Young . He was nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005 , but was not elected . In 2009 , Van Pelt was inducted into the East - West Shrine Game Hall of Fame . He participated in the 48th East - West Shrine Game in 1972 . The year before his death , he and his fiancee , Deanna , purchased a home in Harrison , Michigan , where his two brothers and mother reside . They spent most of their time there . Van Pelt was inducted into the New York Giants Ring of Honor during the 2011 season at halftime in a game between the Giants and the Green Bay Packers . Death . On February 17 , 2009 , Van Pelt was found by his longtime fiancee , slumped in a chair , dead from an apparent heart attack . He was 57 and had no known heart condition , but his father died at an early age from heart problems . Van Pelt ' s death was a shock to the Crunch Bunch . Harry Carson commented , " I am just so glad that I got to know the man more so than the athlete . " Brian Kelley stated : " It was total devastation . I ' ve known Brad since ' 73 - - 36 years . I ' ve known him longer than my wife and my kids . Football was 11 years of our life . We had 25 other years when we were together , did things together and still are doing them together , us and LT and Harry Carson . It ' s sort of like losing a limb because the four of us are so close . 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 . "