Don Meredith Trading Card, 1961

Born Joseph Don Meredith, this NFL player and sports broadcaster claimed a place in Dallas Cowboy NFL history and in the nation's Monday night football rituals from the 1960s to the 1980s.

"Dandy Don" was born and raised in Mount Vernon, Texas, and was the starting quarterback at Southern Methodist University (SMU) from 1957 to 1959. In 1960, he became one of the first signed players for the newly-created Dallas Cowboys NFL team— a team which, at that point, didn't have a coach or any other players.

This trading card is from the 1961 season when Meredith was sharing quarterback duties with Eddie Le Baron. Tom Landry promoted Meredith to the starting QB position in 1963, a role he held until his retirement from professional football in 1969. Although "Dandy Don" never led the Cowboys to a Super Bowl, he did guide them to three straight division championships and to postseason championship games (and losses to Green Bay) in 1966 and 1967. Meredith was inducted into the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor in 1976.

After his retirement, Meredith took up a new career as a color analyst for ABC's Monday Night Football broadcasts. His down-home style and witty comebacks to fellow broadcaster Howard Cosell gained him many new fans. During the 1980s, Meredith appeared in several episodes of the TV drama Police Story and was featured in commercials for Lipton Iced Tea.

"Dandy Don" Meredith passed away in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on December 5, 2010.