Time to note the passing of a man who held an interesting place in American culture. Former quarterback and broadcaster Don Meredith passed away earlier this week at the age of 72.
“Dandy Don” holds an interesting place in our culture because he did it without being the very best. He will never be listed among the greatest college players of all time, nor in the NFL nor among broadcasters. He was good, don’t get me wrong, at times very good but that’s not usually the pass/fail for the kinds of work he did.
Meredith was a two time All American and three time Pro Bowl choice. He led the Cowboys to their first winning seasons and playoff victories. Meredith was the Cowboys first star quarterback and really their first star player of any kind. After his retirement in 1968 Meredith dabbled in the stock market before taking the job as the third voice in the booth for the fledgling Monday Night Football broadcasts.
It’s easy to forget that Monday Night Football was considered a gamble at first. In the second year the broadcast really found its magic formula and Meredith was an integral part of that. The original MNF team was Meredith, Howard Cosell and college broadcasting legend Keith Jackson. Jackson was replaced the following season by Frank Gifford and the classic team came together. Gifford provided rock solid play by play but it was the interplay between Cosell and Meredith that made the show a winner. Arrogant, verbose and decidedly big city Cosell versus the north Texas good ole boy Dandy Don. Meredith could hold his own with Cosell and that was the real key to success to the broadcast. Monday Night Football became an event largely because of the Cosell-Meredith match ups.
Curiously Meredith didn’t seem to realize what a great thing he was helping to create at first. After four seasons he left to work at rival NBC for three years. In his absence neither Fred Williamson nor Alex Karras managed the kind of interaction with Cosell. In 1977 Meredith returned and stayed till 1984 with his final broadcast being Super Bowl XIX.
It might be easy to brush Don Meredith aside as just a good time guy, a pretty fair quarterback with a quick wit. The reality is that he stands as a key element in the births of two great American cultural icons - the Dallas Cowboys and Monday Night Football. And that’s a much better than average legacy for any man.
Don Meredith passed away at age 72
Call that the View From the Phlipside.
"The View From the Phlipside" airs on WRFA-LP Jamestown NY. You can listen to WRFA online HERE
Copyright - Jay Phillippi 2010
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