Don Meredith, Cosell’s Foil, Dies at 72 - NYTimes.com: "ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Don Meredith, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback who served as a folksy foil for Howard Cosell on ABC's 'Monday Night Football' and helped carve out the niche for colorful ex-athlete broadcasters, has died. 'Dandy Don,' as he was known, was 72.
Meredith's wife, Susan, told The Associated Press her husband died Sunday in Santa Fe after suffering a brain hemorrhage and lapsing into a coma. She and her daughter were at Meredith's side when he died.
'He was the best there was,' she said Monday, describing him as kind, warm and funny. 'We lost a good one.'"
Update: Click here for a nice photo restrospective.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
5 comments:
I always admired Dandy Don. MNF was never the same after he left.
He was great at tweaking Howard. I agree that MNF lost a lot when he left.
Jeff
I still recall the night the Houston fan gave them the finger and Don nonchalantly replied that "He's just saying we're Number one!"
If not for him I wouldn't have watched MNF. He was the perfect buffer between Cosell and the viewer, and I remember him going off on Howard more than once. Sad news.
I happened to meet him in Houston in a non-sports related setting in the early 60s. He was just starting his pro career. I wasn't particularly interested in football and wasn't aware of his status in it, but I was impressed with his genuine friendliness and unpretentiousness.
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