Don Meredith Passes

Don Meredith passed away at the age of 72. Don was one of those rare people that made the Dallas Cowboys a true icon in the NFL and then helped make Monday Night Football an amercian institution.

Turn out the Lights but never forget a true sportsman and really good man that enjoyed life.

Yep, they don't make 'em like that any more. A great athlete, very colorful, and willing to walk away from the game at the height of his career just because he didn't care for it any more.

Well put Bob! He was a very likeable character with his East Texas good ole boy charm. The original Monday Night Football announcers had chemistry that has never been matched.

Joseph Don "Dandy Don" Meridith...he was worthy of the nickname.

A tribute...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4Fsl...eature=related

For those of us who grew up on the Cowboys of the 1960s, we all remember the excitement of a rapidly improving team based on Meredith's grit and Bob Hayes' speed (oh, and a lot of Doomsday Defense thrown in as well).

But the loss of Meredith is akin to the loss of Mickey Mantle for a lot of us. It really marks the passage of time and leaves me very sad for my youth.

Let's all pray he's now in a place where the fans don't boo the hometown players.

he was a great man! RIP!

He's in a place that welcomes his arrival..enjoy life... the party just begins...

nobody could pluck Howard Cosell's guitar strings like Dandy Don!

"Turn out the lights, the party's over."

He was the Cowboy's quarterback when I first gained football awareness as a young boy. Just last night on Dale Hanson's Sports Special, Dale had Walt Garrison on as a guest and Walt told a few funny stories about Dandy Don. The one I like best went like this:

The Cowboys were on the charter flight home when they hit some turbulence. The plane suddenly dropped several hundred feet. As the plane plummeted downward, Garrison looked over to where Meredith was sitting. There, as players screamed and prayed, Meredith calmly sat with a cigarette in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other. When he noticed Garrison looking at him, Meredith lifted his glass and said "It's been a goodin' ".

So I was shocked when I heard of Don's passing this morning. The Muser's had Walt on The Ticket this morning and he was obviously shaken by the news. He had just learned the news early this morning himself and had not known about it when on Hanson's show the night before.

The fans here in Dallas never gave Don the credit he deserved or very much appreciation for what he accomplished playing on some truly awful teams in the early 60's while he was an active player. The "BooBirds" were merciless towards him at the Cotton Bowl. That changed somewhat after his sudden retirement.

I vividly remember being at a Monday Night Football game in the Cotton Bowl in 1970 where the St. Louis Cardinals tore the Cowboys apart 38-0. Meredith was part of the MNF broadcast team and probably about the 3rd quarter, the chant of "We Want Meredith!" started up and was soon deafening through the old stadium. I wish I could have seen what his reaction to that was.

I hope that tonight, somewhere, Dandy Don and Bullet Bob are playing a little game of catch...

I vividly remember being at a Monday Night Football game in the Cotton Bowl in 1970 where the St. Louis Cardinals tore the Cowboys apart 38-0. Meredith was part of the MNF broadcast team and probably about the 3rd quarter, the chant of "We Want Meredith!" started up and was soon deafening through the old stadium. I wish I could have seen what his reaction to that was. Originally Posted by harry

This was from espn.com

In 1970, Meredith was in the booth for the St. Louis Cardinals' 38-0 whitewashing of his former team. The Cotton Bowl crowd late in the game began chanting "We want Meredith!"

Meredith quipped, "No way you're getting me down there."

or when a team charter flight was losing altitude and fearing a crash Joe Don Meredith says "Well boys its been a good 'un'

I guess a bunch of people have Dandy Don stories to tell. I knew a CPA who said he came into their office propped his feet on their desk and belted out "Wabash Cannon Ball" at the top of his lungs. I saw him in 2008 at an SMU game as they retired his jersey. According to sources that was his last public appearance in this area. Attached is a youtube video of him singing his college school song. He will be missed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgh0xhIm_y4

If you heard Bob Lilly on the radio Monday (think it was on The Fan), he talked at great length about how much Joe Don played hurt, even when the Cowboys started winning, and how serious some of the injuries were (punctured lung, anyone? dislocated shoulder reset multiple times in the huddle?) yet the astute Dallas fans booed him unmercifully. That probably had as much as anything else to do with the crack he made during the '70 Cardinal game. And, of course, there was the on again, off again relationship with Ol' Stoneface. It just stopped being fun and he knew that there was life outside of the "arena." His retirement coincided with mine as a Cowboy fan. Of course, the game and the players were much different from today because of the "$" factor. There's no way his outlook and attitude would be tolerated today - beginning at the PeeWee level.....too bad. Most of today's athletes who don't go "thug" have about as much public personality as a PGA Tour member - and it's a shame that is the choice.

He had a good life, bless his heart, had fun mostly on his own terms and came to appreciate living in Santa Fe far away from Dallas. Good on him!

BTW, he hated "Dandy Don."

we all must go alone, this is one thing we all are promised in life, DEATH! he will be well missed by family and foe! rest in peace! was a wonderfulllllll aset to the COWBOY'S...........

Meredith was bigger that the cowgirls. Its too bad he had to die to enter the HOF as a broadcaster.