Former Football Stars Help Raise Funds For Boy With Rare Blood Disorder

BRISTOL, Va. – Vincent Dale Cox really hates being called small.
He stands about a head shorter than other 6-year-old boys. He was born with three thumbs and has a rare, unpredictable blood disorder called Fanconi anemia, which could result in bone marrow failure.
Other than that, though, he’s an ordinary kid, said his football star grandfather, Carroll Dale, who played for the Green Bay Packers more than four decades ago when they won the first and second Super Bowls.
“He’s a little on the obstinate side, so a typical little boy,” Dale chuckled, signing autographs Monday evening at the Bristol Mall Chick-fil-A to raise money for his grandson’s $1 million treatment. “We joke that if he had his full blood he’d likely kill us all.”
The Dale family, of Bristol, Tenn., might be in danger, then. Vincent and his mother, Valarie Dale Cox, are heading to the University of Minnesota’s Medical Center in December for a bone marrow transplant. The boy’s inherited blood disorder causes the bone marrow to slow down or stop making blood cells. Those with the disease are 300,000 times more likely to develop cancer later in life, and they are prone to diabetes, thyroid issues, osteoporosis, organ failure and infections.
Carroll Dale said he was proud to help his grandson. Set up at a folding table, he signed 37-year-old photos of himself as a wide receiver, dashing and clad in the Packer’s green and gold. In the picture, he was 35 years old, 6 feet, 2 inches tall and weighed 200 pounds.
Mary Jo Leonard, who goes to Tennessee Avenue Baptist Church with the Cox family, examined the glossy photo of Dale and glanced over at blue-eyed Vincent.
“I think he favors him so much,” she said.
Leonard and her husband, Randy, slurped ice cream cones, happy that Chick-fil-A donated 15 percent of their dinner purchase to the Cox family.
The medical treatment alone will cost at least $1 million, said Valarie Cox. Even with health insurance, they’ll pay some of that amount, and travel expenses and lost work time also will be considerable, she said.
For at least a year after treatment, Vincent will have little contact with friends and family because the anti-rejection drugs weaken the immune system, and will leave him susceptible to illness and infection.
The line for $10 autographs Monday was longer than the one for chicken. Carroll Dale was accompanied by former teammate cornerback Willie Buchanon. Dale is a native of Wise, Va., and works in athletic fundraising at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise. He played football at Virginia Tech, was captain his senior year and named second team All-American in 1958 and 1959. He’s in the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, the Packers Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame.
According to the College Football Hall of Fame, he scored on a 57-yard touchdown pass in his first NFL game. He’s a local legend complete with things named after him: the football stadium at his alma mater, J.J. Kelly High School in Wise, is the Carroll Dale Stadium.
He wore his Super Bowl rings Monday night.
“I can’t believe I’m shaking your hand,” said Jim Ponasik, a Wisconsin-bred chemist at Eastman Chemical Co., who reached across the folding table. “I’ve been a fan since I was born.”
Ponasik said he saw a flyer about the event at his golf course, but most who attended Monday’s event were friends and family members.
“Last night, my son said, ‘Dad, are we going to dinner tomorrow?” said Jeff Branson, the father of Vincent’s best friend, Parker. “We were already planning to come, but I wanted to see what he’d say. I asked, ‘should we?’ and Parker said, ‘We’ve got to help little Vincent. He’s sick.’”
The Cox family requests that tax exempt contributions be mailed to the Wise First Church of God, For VDC Medical Fund; P.O. Box 980; Wise, Va. 24293.

cgalofaro@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2531