Post by Trojans on Dec 8, 2010 23:17:03 GMT -6
On December 5th 2010 we all lost one of the great Texans to play in the NFL. I went to Wikipedia (I love that site) to get some background, and forgotten data on the man we called "Dandy Don"
I'm not gona copy / paste the entire site, just a couple of noteables. Really a remarkable man, I encourage you to learn more.
Joseph Don "Dandy Don" Meredith (April 10, 1938 – December 5, 2010) was an American football quarterback, sports commentator and actor. He spent all nine seasons of his professional playing career (1960–1968) with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his last three years as a player. He subsequently became a color analyst for NFL telecasts from 1970 to 1984. As an original member of the Monday Night Football broadcast team on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), he famously played the role of Howard Cosell's comic foil.
He is generally considered the original Dallas Cowboy because he had come to the team even before the franchise had adopted a nickname, hired a head coach or participated in either the 1960 NFL Expansion Draft or its first NFL Draft in 1961.
Meredith, along with Harvey Martin, is among the few players to play his high school (Mount Vernon), college (SMU), and pro (Dallas Cowboys) career in and around the Dallas, Texas, area. He never played a home game, on any level, outside of North Texas.
It is said that the character of Seth Maxwell in the film North Dallas Forty and the novel it was based upon (both written by former Cowboy wide receiver Peter Gent who also fictionalzied himself), resembles Meredith. Of the story, Meredith had said, "If I'd known Gent was as good as he says he was, I would have thrown to him more".
Following his football career, Meredith became a color commentator for ABC's Monday Night Football beginning in 1970. He left for three seasons (1974 to 1976) to work with Curt Gowdy at NBC, then returned to MNF partners Frank Gifford and Howard Cosell. His approach to color commentary was light-hearted and folksy, in contrast to Cosell's detailed and intellectual analysis and Gifford's rather ponderous play-by-play technique. He was known for singing "Turn out the lights, the party's over" (a line from a Willie Nelson song, "The Party's Over") at the time the game was apparently decided.
When MNF started back in 1970 the NFL was the #2 sport in the country, by the time Dandy Don retired, the NFL was the #1 sport in all the land.......that my friend is what a TRUE Texan can do for you
[video src="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
I'm not gona copy / paste the entire site, just a couple of noteables. Really a remarkable man, I encourage you to learn more.
Joseph Don "Dandy Don" Meredith (April 10, 1938 – December 5, 2010) was an American football quarterback, sports commentator and actor. He spent all nine seasons of his professional playing career (1960–1968) with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his last three years as a player. He subsequently became a color analyst for NFL telecasts from 1970 to 1984. As an original member of the Monday Night Football broadcast team on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), he famously played the role of Howard Cosell's comic foil.
He is generally considered the original Dallas Cowboy because he had come to the team even before the franchise had adopted a nickname, hired a head coach or participated in either the 1960 NFL Expansion Draft or its first NFL Draft in 1961.
Meredith, along with Harvey Martin, is among the few players to play his high school (Mount Vernon), college (SMU), and pro (Dallas Cowboys) career in and around the Dallas, Texas, area. He never played a home game, on any level, outside of North Texas.
It is said that the character of Seth Maxwell in the film North Dallas Forty and the novel it was based upon (both written by former Cowboy wide receiver Peter Gent who also fictionalzied himself), resembles Meredith. Of the story, Meredith had said, "If I'd known Gent was as good as he says he was, I would have thrown to him more".
Following his football career, Meredith became a color commentator for ABC's Monday Night Football beginning in 1970. He left for three seasons (1974 to 1976) to work with Curt Gowdy at NBC, then returned to MNF partners Frank Gifford and Howard Cosell. His approach to color commentary was light-hearted and folksy, in contrast to Cosell's detailed and intellectual analysis and Gifford's rather ponderous play-by-play technique. He was known for singing "Turn out the lights, the party's over" (a line from a Willie Nelson song, "The Party's Over") at the time the game was apparently decided.
When MNF started back in 1970 the NFL was the #2 sport in the country, by the time Dandy Don retired, the NFL was the #1 sport in all the land.......that my friend is what a TRUE Texan can do for you
[video src="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
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