The American actor Tom Hanks (you may have heard of this guy if you have seen movies before) was born in Concord, CA, which is about 25 minutes outside of Oakland. He grew up in Oakland, attending high school there before moving on to a local community college in the area.
Point being: Hanks spent most of his childhood and young adulthood in and around the Oakland area, so it should come as no surprise that he was a fan of the Raiders. (The team played in Oakland from 1960 to 1981 before briefly moving to Los Angeles. That period covers Hanks' childhood, since he was born in 1956.)
Hanks' favorite player was apparently quarterback Ken Stabler, who passed away after a bout with colon cancer over the summer. Stabler was also recently named a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame by its Senior Committee. How do we know Hanks was a fan of The Snake? Well, because of this letter he sent to Stabler's daughters, Kendra and Alexa (who sent him some Stabler gear upon hearing that he was a fan):
It's not every day you get a letter from Tom Hanks. What a stud! So cool of him to reach out. #respect #throwdeep pic.twitter.com/o9E3r0TJjw
— Kendra Stabler Moyes (@KendraSMoyes) December 28, 2015
The full text reads as follows:
18 December 2015
Dear Kendra and Alexa,
Beyond the heroics on the field and, say, a Super Bowl victory, why a young fan takes to any one football player is a mystery. A personal attraction.
In Oakland, the capitol of Raider Nation, the years I was a kid there we had everyone from the Black Panthers, the Hell's Angels, the Zodiac Killer, and Charley O. Finley. And, we had the Raiders...
Your father, with his left-handedness and those two bad knees, displayed a permanent smile of bemusement that said -- win or lose -- "ain't this fun?" I really did see in him the honor to be found in playing the game, of using one's god given talent, of taking pleasure in the effort.
That Ken Stabler came from the likes of Alabama yet played right there in my home town helped me understand the variety found in the USA. Using a pair of pillars to change the channel on my busted kids TV (it had a few knobs missing) I would tune in San Diego to see your Dad play, or Shea Stadium to see him take on the Jets -- learning that if you were good enough you could do your thing anywhere you wanted.
I'm hon0red to wear the fine bit ot Stablerwear you sent along and will continue to offer up to anyone who comes my way, and maybe asks how I ended up where I am, that you just have to throw deep, baby...
Tom Hanks
This is really cool. First of all, just look at that thing. Hanks definitely wrote it on a typewriter. Second of all, Hanks closes the letter with "throw deep, baby," a reference to Stabler's propensity to do so as well as one of his famous quotes. Third, the letter is filled with Bay Area name-drops (the Black Panthers, Hell's Angels, Zodiac Killer, Charlie O. Finley), whose influence on the area Hanks ignored in favor of the Raiders.
Hanks easily could have just said "thanks for the gear" or something, but instead, he reached out to Stabler's daughters with a truly heartfelt message. And that's awesome.
