Tom Hanks Fondly Remembers Raiders QB Ken Stabler in Thank You Letter

The legacy of the late Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler is being fondly remembered by a Hollywood star.

Award-winning actor and Bay Area native Tom Hanks sent a sweetly typed thank you letter to Stabler's daughters after they sent him some memorabilia that belonged to their father.

Stabler, otherwise known as "The Snake," was the Raiders quarterback from 1970-1979. He passed away in July from colon cancer at the age of 69.

"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?'" Hanks wrote. "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."

After saying he'd proudly wear his gifts, Hanks closed out the letter with a mention of Stabler's famous catchphrase and style: "throw deep, baby."

"What a stud! So cool of him to reach out," Kendra Stabler Moyes said in a tweet containing a photo of the letter on Monday sent to her and sister Alexa.

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