Dandy Don is dead.

[PittsburghSucks]

Turn out the lights, the party is over!!!

[RAIDERNATION]

just saw it on ESPN. *sniff*

[BlueSky]

I was an Army brat and had no home town until we moved to New Orleans in '69. But my grandmother lived in Dallas so I "adopted" Meredith's Cowboys and they were my first NFL team. One of my fondest sports memories is my Dad taking me down to the Cotton Bowl on a Saturday morning when I was about 6 years old to see where the Cowboys played. A kindly security guard saw the wonder in a little boy's eyes and let us in and took us out to stand in the end zone. I'll never forget that.

Though the Saints became my team when we moved there, I remained a Cowboys fan until Jerry bought 'em and tossed Landry out like yesterday's trash. So RIP Don, you were a great player, a tough SOB, and a damn funny MNF color guy too.

BTW, Meredith was the first Cowboy, the first player the team signed when they entered the league.

[infrared41]

Howard, Frank, and Dandy Don. Monday Night Football was an event back then. It was literally "must see TV." It's a shame that most of the folks on these boards are too young to have seen MNF at it's absolute peak.

It was never better than this...

[slapshot]

Don't know why, but I always mix up Dandy Don and Mr Kathie Lee.

Vaya con dios, Dandy Don.

Today we are all something-or-others.

[illwauk]

Howard, Frank, and Dandy Don. Monday Night Football was an event back then. It was literally "must see TV." It's a shame that most of the folks on these boards are too young to have seen MNF at it's absolute peak.

It was never better than this...

QFT. It's only just now, largely thanks to youtube, that I'm starting to understand why Dandy Don was such a legend.

He really said "where they're a mile high and so am I" when they were in Denver? Dopeness... LOL!

[BlueSky]

Howard, Frank, and Dandy Don. Monday Night Football was an event back then. It was literally "must see TV." It's a shame that most of the folks on these boards are too young to have seen MNF at it's absolute peak.

It was never better than this...

QFT. It's only just now, largely thanks to youtube, that I'm starting to understand why Dandy Don was such a legend.

He really said "where they're a mile high and so am I" when they were in Denver? Dopeness... LOL!

One of his best was after Howard Cosell got in big trouble for this:

===

During a Monday Night Football telecast on September 5, 1983, Cosell said of Washington Redskins wide receiver Alvin Garrett, "That little monkey gets loose, doesn't he?" The Rev. Joseph Lowery, then-president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, denounced Cosell's comment as racist and demanded a public apology, but Cosell refused, citing his past support for black athletes and stating that "little monkey" was an affectionate term he had used in the past for white athletes (including Mike Adamle), as well as for his own grandson.

Cosell left the Monday Night Football booth following the 1983 season, citing his increasing lack of interest in pro football.

===

During a game a week or two later, Don responded to Cosell's explanation on the air by saying something on the order of, "That's OK, Howard, we know you didn't mean anything by it...you old orangutan you."

BTW, surprised this hasn't come up...the movie North Dallas Forty is based on a book by former Cowboy Pete Gent and supposedly portrays many of the people and relationships on those mid-60s teams. Note Mac Davis as Seth Maxwell (#16), the Meredithesque QB.

If you check out Gent's work, definitely read The Franchise, about a QB who is a top draft pick of the fictional but coolly named Texas Pistols. Always loved the crossed six-guns logo:

[NoHoJoe]

RIP Don.

I'll brew some Lipton Iced Tea in you honor.

[knnhrvy16]

I found a fantastic four-minute video about his career, a really fun clip to watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvPffNKLoI0

As the clip shows, he was quite the character. Luckily, even though I'm just a college kid and much too young to have ever watched him, my grandfather (who is from Texas) did watch him, and said he was one of the best QB's he saw. I believe him, too.

[Coast2CoastAM2006]

Today we are all Dandy Don.

[infrared41]

BTW, surprised this hasn't come up...the movie North Dallas Forty is based on a book by former Cowboy Pete Gent and supposedly portrays many of the people and relationships on those mid-60s teams. Note Mac Davis as Seth Maxwell (#16), the Meredithesque QB.

North Dallas Forty is simply the best football movie ever. Good call BlueSky.

[BlueSky]

Thanks. Always liked that movie too.

Here's a great SI article from 10 years ago that tells what was so special about Don Meredith. It's a shade over 2 web pages and well worth your time. Just the opening ranges between funny and poignant.

Meredith Article

[slapshot]

Today we are all Dandy Don.

Lazy

[NJTank]

Today we are all Howard Cosell's whipping boy

[knnhrvy16]

Thanks. Always liked that movie too.

Here's a great SI article from 10 years ago that tells what was so special about Don Meredith. It's a shade over 2 web pages and well worth your time. Just the opening ranges between funny and poignant.

Meredith Article

That is a wonderful article, indeed. I definetely enjoyed it, thanks for sharing.

[BlueSky]

Thanks. Always liked that movie too.

Here's a great SI article from 10 years ago that tells what was so special about Don Meredith. It's a shade over 2 web pages and well worth your time. Just the opening ranges between funny and poignant.

Meredith Article

That is a wonderful article, indeed. I definetely enjoyed it, thanks for sharing.

You're welcome. The opening, the part about someone else's life well-lived being irritating, reminded me of one of my favorite movie lines ever, from Broadcast News. William Hurt rhetorically asks, "What do you do when your real life exceeds your wildest dreams?" To which Albert Brooks replies, "Keep it to yourself!"