Don Meredith Joseph Don " Dandy Don " Meredith ( April 10 , 1938 – December 5 , 2010 ) was an American football quarterback , sports commentator and actor . He spent all nine seasons of his professional playing career ( 1960 – 1968 ) with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his last three years as a player . He subsequently became a color analyst for NFL telecasts from 1970 – 1984 . As an original member of the " Monday Night Football " broadcast team on the American Broadcasting Company ( ABC ) , he famously played the role of Howard Cosell ' s comic foil . Early years . Meredith was born on April 10 , 1938 in Mount Vernon , Texas , located approximately 100 miles east of Dallas . He attended Mount Vernon High School in his hometown , where he starred in football and basketball , performed in school play s and graduated second in his class . College career . Even though he was heavily recruited by then - Texas A & M head coach Bear Bryant , Meredith decided to play college football at Southern Methodist University ( SMU ) . He led the Southwest Conference in passing completion percentage in each of his three years as the starting quarterback , and was an All - America selection in 1958 and 1959 . His fellow students jokingly referred to the school as " Southern Meredith University " due to his popularity on campus . He completed 8 of 20 passes for 156 yard s in the College All - Stars ' 32 – 7 loss to the Baltimore Colts in the Chicago College All - Star Game on August 12 , 1960 . He would be honored twice by SMU in later decades . He was the recipient of the university ' s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1983 . His jersey number 17 was retired during halftime ceremonies at the SMU - Houston football match on October 18 , 2008 . He was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982 . Professional career . The Dallas Cowboys franchise was admitted to the league too late to participate in the 1960 NFL Draft , so on November 28 , 1959 , one month prior to the draft , Meredith signed a personal services contract with Tecon Corporation which , like the Cowboys , was owned by Clint Murchison . This contract meant he would play for the Cowboys if and when they received an NFL franchise . He was also selected by the Chicago Bears in the third round ( 32nd overall ) of the 1960 NFL Draft , after Bears owner George Halas made the pick to help ensure that the expansion Cowboys got off to a solid start . The league honored the contract , but made the Cowboys compensate the Bears with a third - round pick in the 1962 NFL Draft . He is considered by some to be the original Dallas Cowboy because he had come to the team even before the franchise had adopted a nickname , hired a head coach or participated in either the 1960 NFL Expansion Draft or its first NFL Draft in 1961 . Their crosstown rival s in the American Football League , the Texans , also chose him as a " territorial selection " in their 1960 draft , but were too late to sign him . Meredith spent two years as a backup to Eddie LeBaron , eventually splitting time in 1962 before he was given the full - time starting job by head coach Tom Landry in 1963 . In 1966 , Meredith led the Cowboys to the NFL postseason , something he would continue to do until his unexpected retirement before the 1969 season . His two most heartbreaking defeats came in NFL Championship play against the Green Bay Packers , 34 – 27 in Dallas ( 1966 ) , and the famous " Ice Bowl " game , 21 – 17 in Green Bay ( 1967 ) . " Dandy Don , " while never leading the Cowboys to a Super Bowl , was always exceptionally popular with Cowboys fans who remember him for his grit and toughness , his outgoing nature , and his leadership during the first winning seasons for the Cowboys . Meredith , along with Harvey Martin , is among the few players to play his high school ( Mount Vernon ) , college ( SMU ) , and pro ( Dallas Cowboys ) career in and around the Dallas , Texas , area . During his career , he had a 50 . 7 percent completion rate , throwing for 17 , 199 yards and 135 touchdown s with a lifetime passer rating of 74 . 8 . He was named the NFL Player of the Year in 1966 and was named to the Pro Bowl 3 times . Post - football career . Following his football career , Meredith became a color commentator for ABC ' s " Monday Night Football " beginning in 1970 . He left for 3 seasons ( 1974 – 1976 ) to work with Curt Gowdy at NBC , then returned to " MNF " partners Frank Gifford and Howard Cosell . His approach to color commentary was light - hearted and folksy , in contrast to Cosell ' s detailed , intellectual analysis and Gifford ' s play - by - play technique . He was known for singing " " Turn out the lights , the party ' s over " " ( a line from a Willie Nelson song , " The Party ' s Over " ) at garbage time . Meredith ' s broadcasting career was also not without a few incidents of minor controversy ; including referring to then - President Richard Nixon as " Tricky Dick " , announcing that he was " mile - high " before a game in Denver , and turning the name of Cleveland Browns receiver Fair Hooker into a double entendre . ( saying ' Fair Hooker . . . well , I haven ' t met one yet ! ' ) He retired from sportscasting after the 1984 season , a year after Cosell ' s retirement . His final broadcast was Super Bowl XIX with Frank Gifford and Joe Theismann , which was ABC ' s first Super Bowl . Meredith also had an acting career , appearing in multiple movies and television shows , including a recurring starring role as Detective Bert Jameson on " Police Story " . One episode , " The Witness , " features a picture of Don in his Dallas uniform hanging on a wall in Delaney ' s bar while Don interviews witnesses to a robbery below his picture . He was in a series of commercials in the 1980s as " Lipton Tea Lover , Don Meredith " , a . k . a . " Jeff and Hazel ' s Baby Boy " . He was featured in an episode of " King of the Hill " , ( " " ) in which he misses a throw that would have won the main character , Hank Hill , $ 100 , 000 . In 1976 , Meredith was inducted into the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor at Texas Stadium along with former running back Don Perkins . Meredith was selected as the 2007 recipient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame ' s Pete Rozelle Radio - Television Award . He received the award at the Enshrinee ' s Dinner on August 3 , 2007 . Family . Meredith was married three times : first wife , Lynne Shamburger , a former SMU cheerleader , which lasted from 1959 – 63 , and produced one daughter , Mary . From 1965 – 71 , he was married to the former Cheryl King . Two children were products of that marriage : son Michael and daughter Heather . He met his third wife , the former Susan Lessons Dullea , ex - wife of actor Keir Dullea , as they both were walking down 3rd Avenue in New York City . They married in 1972 . Death . Meredith died on December 5 , 2010 , at the St . Vincent Regional Medical Center , Santa Fe , New Mexico , after suffering a brain hemorrhage . He was 72 years old .