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R.I.P. Dandy Don Meredith


Chandler#81

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That saddens my day - I liked him so much. Meredith was an American original in the MNF early days, and other networks seemed to scramble to find a color-guy of their own just like him.

 

A fairly good depiction of what Meredith, Landry, and the Cowboys must have been like back in those days is the movie

 

North Dallas Forty

 

Part drama, comedy, and satire, North Dallas Forty is widely considered a classic sports film, giving insights into the lives of professional athletes.

 

Based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Peter Gent, a Cowboys wide receiver in the late 1960s, the film's characters closely resemble real-life team members of that era, with Seth Maxwell often compared to quarterback Don Meredith, B.A. Strother to Tom Landry, and Elliott to Gent. Of the story, Meredith said, "If I'd known Gent was as good as he says he was, I would have thrown to him more." (from Wiki)

 

 

 

 

I know he ' lived hard ' but 72 still seems so young these days.

 

RIP, Don Meredith. :(

 

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Edited by The Senator
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What has he been doing since leaving MNF in 1984? That would have made him only 46 years old at the time..........He also retired abruptly from playing football. He had to something like 31 or so when he retired.

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http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/120610dnspomeredithobit.8ac4895.html

 

'Turn out the lights, the party's OVER!

 

RIP, Don. Thanks for the memories

That's the saddest news I've heard today. Coincidentally, almost 30 years to the day since the John Lennon murder was announced during a MNF game.

 

MNF December 8th, 1980

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That's the saddest news I've heard today. Coincidentally, almost 30 years to the day since the John Lennon murder was announced during a MNF game.

 

MNF December 8th, 1980

 

This was pretty cool to watch the other day - Howard and Co. discussing during the commercial break whether they should announce it or not:

http://search.espn.go.com/john-lennon/videos/6

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I've never liked the Cowboys. I resented the whole America's Team thing, and it only got worse once Jerry Jones bought the team, they fired Tom Landry, and Jimmy Johnson took over. It got worse yet when they beat us in the Super Bowl twice.

 

There's been some Dallas Cowboys that I respected but very few that I liked.

 

But Dandy Don was a guy that was just impossible not to like. He seemed like the greatest guy and a fun person to be around to boot. Some nice people are boring. You never got that sense from Meredith. Reading the story that The Senator linked confirms those suspicions. Meredith was actually excoriated and persecuted around Texas for not delivering a World Championship to Dallas.

 

Yet there was never a sense of anger or bitterness to the man. Congenial, respectful, and fun-loving.

 

RIP, Dandy Don.

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