Staley Da Bear
Well-known member
- Mar 16, 2019
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Relationship with Halas, Ed and Virginia McCaskey
Like Sayers, Halas and the rest of his family also formed a special bond with Piccolo. It might have started when Piccolo sent Halas a hand-written thank-you note for signing him as an undrafted free agent. In the two-page letter dated Jan. 11, 1965, Piccolo also expressed his gratitude for the press conference and how he and his wife were treated.
"Joy tells everyone about that great press conference you had for me," Piccolo wrote. "I've never felt so important in my life. Mr. Halas, I want to thank you for being so wonderful to Joy at that press conference. When you called her over to be in those pictures, she was so pleased. I'll tell you this, whoever was your number one fan before Joy met you is number two.
"If someone would have told me a few years ago that someday I'd be playing for George Halas, I would never have believed them. It's a dream come true. I'm so thankful to you for the opportunity and I'll play my heart out for you."
Longtime Bears executive Ed McCaskey bonded quickly with Piccolo. It was McCaskey who suggested that Piccolo and Sayers room together and also wrote the famous speech that Sayers gave to accept the award he felt Piccolo deserved as the NFL's most courageous player. In addition, McCaskey spent days sitting by Piccolo's side when he was in the hospital and was instrumental in the creation of the Brian Piccolo Cancer Research Fund.
In the 2019 documentary "A Lifetime of Sundays" that profiles the NFL's four female owners, Piccolo's wife discussed the support she received from Virginia McCaskey and the rest of the Bears organization.
"After [Piccolo] died, Virginia was just there for us, and very supportive," Joy said. "I would call Virginia and she would just say not to worry, that it was going to be taken care of. And we never saw a hospital bill. The funeral was paid for. She's like your mother; very caring and she can feel what you're going through."
It was Halas, of course, who paid those bills—and "Papa Bear" also honored the rest of Piccolo's contract and set up college funds for his three daughters.