He also took a beating from his coach who wanted his quarterback to appear more serious.

Meridith rivals all for his competitiveness.

Texas Football Legends: Greats of the Game, by Carlton Stowers (2008)

http://www.amazon.com/Texas-Football-Legends-Greats-Game/dp/0875653766/

Book Description

Heisman Trophy winners, All-Americans, All-Pros, MVPs and record-setters have, throughout the glamorous history of football in Texas, been all but commonplace. For decades, one set of superstars routinely replaced another, constantly adding to the proud legacy of the state’s favorite sport. In Texas Football Legends you’ll meet the cream of a rich and talented crop, reliving those days when they climbed to stardom from high school stadiums in out-of-the-way places to the Saturday afternoon cheers as collegians, and finally in the celebrated ranks of professional football.

As you read of their individual deeds, you’ll hear the cherished echoes of championship games won and lost, high goals achieved and adversities overcome. Borrowing from a long-used cliché in Texas, football has been elevated to a form of religion. That said, this collection of biographies of the greatest of the great serves as the game’s Sunday Best.

About the Author

Award-winning author CARLTON STOWERS has spent a lengthy career in press boxes throughout the nation. In addition to writing on Texas high school and college football, he covered the NFL Dallas Cowboys for the Dallas Morning News. He’s also written numerous books on sports.

Product Details

* Hardcover: 96 pages
* Publisher: Texas Christian University Press (October 30, 2008)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 0875653766
* ISBN-13: 978-0875653761

Don was probably the toughest man ever to play the QB position for Dallas.

I became a dyed-in-the-wool Meredith fan during a game in which he was already playing with a mask to protect a broken nose. He was also wearing a “flak-jacket” to protect some dislocated ribs.

I forget the game & opponent (I think it was during the ‘67 season), but he was sacked hard on one play, and after being driven to the ground, the red liquid of the flak-jacket began to ooze out.

This lead the opponent (I don’t recall his name) to think he’d killed Meredith after seeing what he thought was blood soak through Don’s jersey.

Morton relieved him for a plays, but if I recall correctly, Meredith finished the game, led the team to a tough 9-5 record and into the playoffs, where they beat the Browns, but lost to the Packers in the “Ice Bowl”.

Meredith was definitely one tough cookie.

Most of my memories of Meredith are from the Broadcast booth. I can still hear him saying; “99 and a half yards”. I can also hear him singing “Turn out the lights, the party’s over”. I believe that Dandy Don is now living in New Mexico and prefers his privacy. Although I think you can still get him to sign autographs, you never see him on the autograph circuit (card shows).