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Gale Sayers, NFL Legend Whose Friendship With Brian Piccolo Inspired ‘Brian’s Song,’ Dies at 77
Daniel Holloway Executive Editor, TVGale Sayers, the Hall of Fame NFL runningback whose friendship with Chicago Bears teammate Brian Piccolo was memorialized in the 1971 TV movie “Brian’s Song,” has died at the age of 77.According to the Associated Press, which confirmed his death through the Pro Football Hall of Fame, relatives of Sayers confirmed that he suffered from dementia in recent years.Sayers played seven seasons for the Bears from 1965 to 1971, and was widely regarded as the best rusher of his era. “His days at the top of his game were numbered, but there was a magic about him that still sets him apart from the other great runningbacks in pro football,” wrote Red Smith, the Pulitzer Prize-winning sports journalist.
