Don Meredith
Encyclopedia
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
.
, located approximately 100 miles east of Dallas. He attended Mount Vernon High School in his hometown, where he starred in football and basketball
, performed in school play
s and graduated second in his class.
Even though he was heavily recruited by then-Texas A&M
head coach
Bear Bryant
, Meredith decided to play college football
at Southern Methodist University (SMU)
. He led the Southwest Conference in passing completion percentage in each of his three years as the starting quarterback, and was an All-America
selection in 1958 and 1959. His fellow students jokingly referred to the school as "Southern Meredith University" due to his popularity on campus. He completed 8 of 20 passes for 156 yard
s in the College All-Stars' 32–7 loss to the Baltimore Colts
in the Chicago College All-Star Game on August 12, 1960.
He would be honored twice by SMU in later decades. He was the recipient of the university's Distinguished Alumni Award in 1983. His jersey number
17 was retired during halftime
ceremonies at the SMU-Houston
football match on October 18, 2008. He was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1982.
in the third round (32nd overall) of the 1960 NFL Draft
. Bears owner George Halas
made the pick to help ensure that the expansion Dallas Cowboys got off to a solid start. On November 28, 1959, one month
prior to the draft, Meredith had signed a personal services contract
with Tecon Corporation which, like the Cowboys, was owned by Clint Murchison. He was eventually traded to the Cowboys for a third-round pick in the following year's draft. He is considered by some to be 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
. Their crosstown rival
s in the American Football League (AFL)
, the Texans
, also chose him as a "territorial selection" in their 1960 draft
, but were too late to sign him.
Meredith spent two years as a backup to Eddie LeBaron
, eventually splitting time in 1962
before he was given the full-time starting job by head coach Tom Landry
in 1963
. In 1966
, Meredith led the Cowboys to the NFL postseason, something he would continue to do until his unexpected retirement before the 1969
season. His two most heartbreaking defeats came in NFL Championship play against the Green Bay Packers
, 34–27 in Dallas (1966), and in the famous "Ice Bowl" game, 21–17 in Green Bay (1967).
"Dandy Don," while never leading the Cowboys to a Super Bowl
, was always exceptionally popular with Cowboys fans who remember him for his grit and toughness, his outgoing nature, and his leadership during the first winning seasons for the Cowboys. 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. During his career, he had a 50.7 percent completion rate, throwing for 17,199 yards and 135 touchdown
s with a lifetime passer rating
of 74.8. He was named the NFL Player of the Year in 1966
and was named to the Pro Bowl
three times.
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
.
Meredith's broadcasting career was also not without a few incidents of minor controversy; including referring to then-President
Richard Nixon
as "Tricky Dick", announcing that he was "mile-high" before a game in Denver, and turning the name of Cleveland Browns
receiver Fair Hooker
into a double entendre. (saying 'Fair Hooker...well, I haven't met one yet!') He retired from sportscasting after the 1984 season
, a year after
Cosell's retirement. His final broadcast was Super Bowl XIX
with Frank Gifford and Joe Theismann
, which was ABC's first Super Bowl.
Meredith also had an acting career, appearing in multiple movies and television shows, including a recurring starring role as Detective Bert Jameson on Police Story. One episode, "The Witness," features a picture of Don in his Dallas uniform hanging on a wall in Delaney's bar while Don interviews witnesses to a robbery below his picture. He was in a series of commercials in the 1980s as Lipton Tea Lover, Don Meredith, a.k.a. "Jeff and Hazel's Baby Boy". He was featured in an episode of King of the Hill
, ("A Beer Can Named Desire") in which he misses a throw that would have won the main character, Hank Hill
, $100,000.
In 1976
, Meredith was inducted into the Cowboys' Ring of Honor
at Texas Stadium
along with former running back Don Perkins
.
Meredith was selected as the 2007 recipient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
's Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award
. He received the award at the Enshrinee's Dinner on August 3, 2007.
and daughter Heather. He met his third wife, the former Susan Lessons Dullea, ex-wife of actor Keir Dullea
, as they both were walking down 3rd Avenue in New York City. They married in 1972.
, Santa Fe, New Mexico
, after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He was 72 years old.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
, sports commentator
Sports commentator
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He spent all nine seasons of his professional playing career (1960
1960 Dallas Cowboys season
The 1960 Dallas Cowboys season was the inaugural season for the franchise in the National Football League. The team finished with no wins, 11 losses, and 1 tie, which placed them last in the Western Conference, and was the worst record in the NFL for that season.-Offseason:The NFL granted a...
–1968
1968 Dallas Cowboys season
The 1968 Dallas Cowboys season was their ninth in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 9–5, winning twelve games. They qualified for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.-Schedule:-Playoffs:-Standings:-Roster:...
) with the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
of the National Football League (NFL)
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He was named to the Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
in each of his last three years as a player. He subsequently became a color analyst
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
for NFL telecasts from 1970
1970 NFL season
The 1970 NFL season was the 51st regular season of the National Football League, and the first one after the AFL-NFL Merger.The merger forced a realignment between the combined league's clubs. Because there were 16 NFL teams and 10 AFL teams, three teams needed to transfer to balance the two new...
to 1984
1984 NFL season
The 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana....
. As an original member of the Monday Night Football
History of Monday Night Football
The following article details the history of Monday Night Football, the weekly broadcast of National Football League games on U.S. television.-Pre-1970:...
broadcast team on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC)
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, he famously played the role of Howard Cosell
Howard Cosell
Howard William Cosell was an American sports journalist who was widely known for his blustery, cocksure personality. Cosell said of himself, "Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. I have been called all of these...
's comic foil
Double act
A double act, also known as a comedy duo, is a comic pairing in which humor is derived from the uneven relationship between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin and profession, but drastically different personalities or behavior...
.
Southern Methodist University
Meredith was born on April 10, 1938 in Mount Vernon, TexasMount Vernon, Texas
Mount Vernon is a town in Franklin County, Texas, United States. It is the Franklin County seat, and the population was 2,286 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Mount Vernon is located at ....
, located approximately 100 miles east of Dallas. He attended Mount Vernon High School in his hometown, where he starred in football and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, performed in school play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
s and graduated second in his class.
Even though he was heavily recruited by then-Texas A&M
Texas A&M Aggies football
The Texas A&M Aggies football team represents Texas A&M University in college football. The Aggies have competed in the Big 12 Conference since the conference's inception in 1996. They will join the Southeastern Conference in July 2012. Texas A&M football has earned one national title and 18...
head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
Bear Bryant
Bear Bryant
Paul William "Bear" Bryant was an American college football player and coach. He was best known as the longtime head coach of the University of Alabama football team. During his 25-year tenure as Alabama's head coach, he amassed six national championships and thirteen conference championships...
, Meredith decided to play college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Southern Methodist University (SMU)
SMU Mustangs football
The SMU Mustangs football program is a college football team that represents Southern Methodist University . The team competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member Conference USA...
. He led the Southwest Conference in passing completion percentage in each of his three years as the starting quarterback, and was an All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
selection in 1958 and 1959. His fellow students jokingly referred to the school as "Southern Meredith University" due to his popularity on campus. He completed 8 of 20 passes for 156 yard
Yard
A yard is a unit of length in several different systems including English units, Imperial units and United States customary units. It is equal to 3 feet or 36 inches...
s in the College All-Stars' 32–7 loss to the Baltimore Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
in the Chicago College All-Star Game on August 12, 1960.
He would be honored twice by SMU in later decades. He was the recipient of the university's Distinguished Alumni Award in 1983. His jersey number
Squad number
In team sports, the squad number, shirt number, jersey number, sweater number, uniform number or simply a number is the number worn on a player's uniform, to identify and distinguish each player from others wearing the same or similar uniforms...
17 was retired during halftime
Half-time
In some team sports such as association football and rugby, matches are played in two halves. Half-time is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match...
ceremonies at the SMU-Houston
Houston Cougars football
The Houston Cougars football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents the University of Houston. The team is commonly referred to as "Houston" or "UH" . The UH football program is currently a member of the Conference USA intercollegiate athletic conference, and is coached by...
football match on October 18, 2008. He was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1982.
Dallas Cowboys
Meredith was selected by the Chicago BearsChicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the third round (32nd overall) of the 1960 NFL Draft
1960 NFL Draft
The 1960 National Football League Draft Annual Player Selection Meeting in which NFL teams take turns selecting amateur college American football players and other first-time eligible players, was held in secret in order to fend off increased competition for college players from the American...
. Bears owner George Halas
George Halas
George Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears...
made the pick to help ensure that the expansion Dallas Cowboys got off to a solid start. On November 28, 1959, one month
Month
A month is a unit of time, used with calendars, which was first used and invented in Mesopotamia, as a natural period related to the motion of the Moon; month and Moon are cognates. The traditional concept arose with the cycle of moon phases; such months are synodic months and last approximately...
prior to the draft, Meredith had signed a personal services contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
with Tecon Corporation which, like the Cowboys, was owned by Clint Murchison. He was eventually traded to the Cowboys for a third-round pick in the following year's draft. He is considered by some to be the original Dallas Cowboy because he had come to the team even before the franchise
Professional sports league organization
Professional sports leagues are organized in numerous ways. The two most significant types are a European model, characterised by a tiered structure using promotion and relegation to determine participation in a hierarchy of leagues or divisions and a North American model characterized by its use...
had adopted a nickname
Athletic nickname
The athletic nickname, or equivalently athletic moniker, of a university or college within the United States is the name officially adopted by that institution for at least the members of its athletic teams...
, hired a head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
or participated in either the 1960 NFL Expansion Draft
1960 NFL Expansion Draft
The 1960 NFL Expansion Draft was a National Football League draft in which a new expansion team, named the Dallas Cowboys, selected its first players. The NFL awarded Dallas, Texas a franchise to compete for revenue with Lamar Hunt's Dallas Texans of the upstart American Football League...
or its first NFL Draft in 1961
1961 NFL Draft
The 1961 National Football League Draft took place on December 27–28, 1960. The league would later hold an expansion draft for the Minnesota Vikings expansion franchise, and the Vikings were also awarded the first selection position in this draft. This draft was also the first regular draft for...
. Their crosstown rival
Crosstown rivalry
In sports, a crosstown rivalry is a rivalry between two teams in the same metropolitan area. It is a term primarily used in the United States and Canada. They are called "crosstown rivalries" because in most cases, they are held in large cities or metropolitan areas where each team represents a...
s in the American Football League (AFL)
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
, the Texans
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
, also chose him as a "territorial selection" in their 1960 draft
1960 American Football League Draft
The 1960 American Football League Draft was held on November 22, 1959, shortly after the organization of the league, and lasted 33 rounds. An additional draft of 20 rounds was held by the AFL on December 2.- Territorial draft :...
, but were too late to sign him.
Meredith spent two years as a backup to Eddie LeBaron
Eddie LeBaron
Edward Wayne LeBaron, Jr. is a former American football quarterback in the 1950s and early 1960s in the National Football League.-Early years:LeBaron graduated from Oakdale High School in Oakdale, California....
, eventually splitting time in 1962
1962 NFL season
The 1962 NFL season was the 43rd regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, CBS signed a contract with the league to televise all regular-season games for a $4.65 million annual fee....
before he was given the full-time starting job by head coach Tom Landry
Tom Landry
Thomas Wade "Tom" Landry was an American football player and coach. He is ranked as one of the greatest and most innovative coaches in National Football League history, creating many new formations and methods...
in 1963
1963 NFL season
The 1963 NFL season was the 44th regular season of the National Football League. On April 17, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle indefinitely suspended Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras for gambling on their own teams, as well as other NFL games;...
. In 1966
1966 NFL season
The 1966 NFL season was the 47th regular season of the National Football League, and the season after which was played Super Bowl I, though it was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The league expanded to 15 teams with the addition of the Atlanta Falcons, thus an odd number of teams...
, Meredith led the Cowboys to the NFL postseason, something he would continue to do until his unexpected retirement before the 1969
1969 NFL season
The 1969 NFL season was the 50th regular season of the National Football League, and the last one before the AFL-NFL Merger. To honor the NFL's 50th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season.As per the...
season. His two most heartbreaking defeats came in NFL Championship play against the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
, 34–27 in Dallas (1966), and in the famous "Ice Bowl" game, 21–17 in Green Bay (1967).
"Dandy Don," while never leading the Cowboys to a Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
, was always exceptionally popular with Cowboys fans who remember him for his grit and toughness, his outgoing nature, and his leadership during the first winning seasons for the Cowboys. Meredith, along with Harvey Martin
Harvey Martin
Harvey Banks Martin was an American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys from 1973 until 1983. He started playing football in high school, only because he overheard his father tell his mother that he was ashamed that his son did not play like his friends'...
, 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. During his career, he had a 50.7 percent completion rate, throwing for 17,199 yards and 135 touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s with a lifetime passer rating
Passer rating
Passer rating is a measure of the performance of quarterbacks or any other passers in American football and Canadian football. There are at least two formulae currently in use: one officially used by the National Football League and the Canadian Football League, and one used in college football...
of 74.8. He was named the NFL Player of the Year in 1966
1966 NFL season
The 1966 NFL season was the 47th regular season of the National Football League, and the season after which was played Super Bowl I, though it was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The league expanded to 15 teams with the addition of the Atlanta Falcons, thus an odd number of teams...
and was named to the Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
three times.
Post-football career
Following his football career, Meredith became a color commentatorColor commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
for ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
beginning in 1970
1970 NFL season
The 1970 NFL season was the 51st regular season of the National Football League, and the first one after the AFL-NFL Merger.The merger forced a realignment between the combined league's clubs. Because there were 16 NFL teams and 10 AFL teams, three teams needed to transfer to balance the two new...
. He left for three seasons (1974
1974 NFL season
The 1974 NFL season was the 55th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl IX when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings...
to 1976
1976 NFL season
The 1976 NFL season was the 57th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 28 teams with the addition of the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers...
) to work with Curt Gowdy
Curt Gowdy
Curtis Edward "Curt" Gowdy was an American sportscaster, well known as the longtime "voice" of the Boston Red Sox and for his coverage of many nationally-televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:The son of a manager for the Union Pacific railroad,...
at NBC
NFL on NBC
NFL on NBC is the brand given to NBC Sports coverage of National Football League games until 1998, when NBC lost the NFL American Football Conference rights to CBS...
, then returned to MNF partners Frank Gifford
Frank Gifford
Francis Newton "Frank" Gifford is a Hall of Fame former American football player and American sportscaster.-Early life:Gifford was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Lola Mae and Weldon Gifford, an oil driller....
and Howard Cosell
Howard Cosell
Howard William Cosell was an American sports journalist who was widely known for his blustery, cocksure personality. Cosell said of himself, "Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. I have been called all of these...
. 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
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
song, "The Party's Over
The Party's Over and Other Great Willie Nelson Songs
The Party's Over and Other Great Willie Nelson Songs is a 1967 album by country singer Willie Nelson.- Track listing :All tracks composed by Willie Nelson; except where indicated#"Suffering in Silence"#"Hold Me Tighter"#"Go Away"#"Ghost"...
") at the time the game was apparently decided
Garbage time
Garbage time, also known as "junk time", is a term used to refer to the period at the end of a timed sporting event that has become a blowout when the outcome of the game has already been decided, and the coaches of one or both teams will decide to replace their best players with substitutes...
.
Meredith's broadcasting career was also not without a few incidents of minor controversy; including referring to then-President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
as "Tricky Dick", announcing that he was "mile-high" before a game in Denver, and turning the name of Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
receiver Fair Hooker
Fair Hooker
Fair Hooker is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the 1969 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arizona State....
into a double entendre. (saying 'Fair Hooker...well, I haven't met one yet!') He retired from sportscasting after the 1984 season
1984 NFL season
The 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana....
, a year after
1983 NFL season
The 1983 NFL season was the 64th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVIII when the Los Angeles Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins.-Major rule changes:...
Cosell's retirement. His final broadcast was Super Bowl XIX
Super Bowl XIX
Super Bowl XIX was an American football game played on January 20, 1985 at Stanford Stadium, on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1984 regular season...
with Frank Gifford and Joe Theismann
Joe Theismann
Joseph Robert "Joe" Theismann is a former quarterback in the National Football League and Canadian Football League . He achieved his most enduring fame in his 12 seasons playing for the Washington Redskins, where he was a two-time Pro Bowler and quarterback of the winning team in Super Bowl XVII...
, which was ABC's first Super Bowl.
Meredith also had an acting career, appearing in multiple movies and television shows, including a recurring starring role as Detective Bert Jameson on Police Story. One episode, "The Witness," features a picture of Don in his Dallas uniform hanging on a wall in Delaney's bar while Don interviews witnesses to a robbery below his picture. He was in a series of commercials in the 1980s as Lipton Tea Lover, Don Meredith, a.k.a. "Jeff and Hazel's Baby Boy". He was featured in an episode of King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
, ("A Beer Can Named Desire") in which he misses a throw that would have won the main character, Hank Hill
Hank Hill
Henry Rutherford "Hank" Hill Age 50 animated series King of the Hill. Hank lives in Arlen, Texas and works at the fictional Strickland Propane selling propane and propane accessories. Hank's voice is provided by series creator Mike Judge. The Economist named Hank Hill as one of the wisest people...
, $100,000.
In 1976
1976 NFL season
The 1976 NFL season was the 57th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 28 teams with the addition of the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers...
, Meredith was inducted into the Cowboys' Ring of Honor
Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor
The Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor was a ring around Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas and currently around Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas which honors former players, coaches and club officials who made outstanding contributions to the Dallas Cowboys football organization. The Ring of Honor began...
at Texas Stadium
Texas Stadium
Texas Stadium was a football stadium in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The stadium opened on September 17, 1971.Built to replace the aging Cotton Bowl, it was the home field of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, and had a seating capacity of 65,675...
along with former running back Don Perkins
Don Perkins
Donald Anthony Perkins is a former American football halfback who spent eight seasons with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.-Early years:...
.
Meredith was selected as the 2007 recipient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
's Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award
Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award
The Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, created in 1989 and named for the late longtime NFL commissioner, is bestowed annually by the Pro Football Hall of Fame "for longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football". Unlike the Baseball Hall of Fame's comparable...
. He received the award at the Enshrinee's Dinner on August 3, 2007.
Family
Meredith was married three times: first wife, Lynne Shamburger, a former SMU cheerleader,which lasted from 1959–1963, and produced one daughter, Mary. From 1965–1971, he was married to the former Cheryl King. Two children were products of that marriage: son MichaelMichael Meredith
Michael Meredith is an American independent film director, screenwriter and producer. He frequently collaborates with German director Wim Wenders. Meredith is the son of the late former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and football commentator Don Meredith...
and daughter Heather. He met his third wife, the former Susan Lessons Dullea, ex-wife of actor Keir Dullea
Keir Dullea
Keir Dullea is an American actor best known for the character of astronaut David Bowman, whom he portrayed in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey and in 1984's 2010: The Year We Make Contact...
, as they both were walking down 3rd Avenue in New York City. They married in 1972.
Death
Meredith died on December 5, 2010, at the St. Vincent Regional Medical CenterCHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center
CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center is a general hospital located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The hospital is the oldest in the State of New Mexico, since being established in the downtown plaza before it was moved in 1977 to developing St. Michaels Drive. It is the largest medical facility...
, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He was 72 years old.
See also
- List of NFL on NBC commentator pairings
- Most consecutive games with at least two touchdown passes