It’s a sad day for Cowboys fans with the news that Don Meredith, nicknamed “Dandy” by Howard Cosell, has passed away at the age of 72.
The man who helped make Monday Night Football a cultural icon died at his home in Santa Fe after suffering a brain hemorrhage and lapsing into a coma.
Meredith played for the Cowboys from 1960 to 1968. He led Dallas to three straight division titles and to consecutive NFL championship games in 1966 and 1967, losing both games to Green Bay.
The 1967 game against the Packers would become known as the Ice Bowl and is one of the most famous games in NFL history.
While Meredith never enjoyed tremendous success with the Cowboys, he would become the favorite member of the three-man announcing crew of Monday Night Football.
Prior to MNF’s first season in 1970, ABC producer Roone Arledge wanted to hire Frank Gifford as the lead announcer, but Gifford was under contract with CBS.
Arledge hired Keith Jackson and Howard Cosell but wanted a third person to serve as a color analyst. Based on a suggestion he received from Gifford, Arledge hired Meredith to round out the announcing team.
The following year Gifford was free from his contract with CBS and signed with ABC as the lead announcer for MNF, teaming with Cosell and Meredith.
During the 1971 NFL season the triumvirate helped usher in a new era in broadcasting and set the benchmark for NFL telecasts. Gifford, Cosell and Meredith made Monday Night Football an event that went beyond watching the game.
It was during the first season of MNF that Meredith sang the Willie Nelson song “Turn Out The Lights” whenever one team took a commanding lead. Meredith would sing or hum the song throughout his tenure on MNF and continued to sing it until his death on Sunday.
The three are widely considered to be the best and most beloved of any announcers that have worked on MNF. The longest running sports franchise on television has never been the same since Gifford, Cosell and Meredith left MNF.
For more about Don Meredith read A History of Monday Night Football, an article I wrote more than three years ago.
Watch this video clip of an intro for a Monday Night Football game featuring Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell and Don Meredith. The second video is a short clip of Meredith singing “Turn Out The Lights.”
Monday Night Football Intro With Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell and Don Meredith
Don Meredith Sings Turn Out The Lights
