December 7th 2010
Don Meredith, 72
The original Tony Romo, Meredith was the original Dallas Cowboy signing a personal services contract on Nov. 28, 1959, two months before the franchise officially gained admittance into the NFL. He was a two-time All-American at SMU and played for the Cowboys from 1960 to 1968. He led the Cowboys to the 1966 and 1967 NFL title games, both defeats to the Green Bay Packers, but he abruptly retired from pro football at age 31.
He was also on Monday Night Football for a decade and lived in an adobe in Santa Fe since 1982.
Goodbye, Dandy Don. The party's over.