When the NFL decided at the last minute that the Cowboys were going to start play in 1960 instead of the following year like originally planned, Chicago Bears owner George Halas drafted and then traded Don Meredith, a rookie who was a two-time All-American at SMU, to Dallas in exchange for a 1961 third-round draft pick in hopes of helping attendance numbers against the fledging American Football League.

In those first five years, though, the Cowboys were awful, and while Eddie LeBaron played the majority of the 1960-61 seasons at quarterback, Meredith was the one who took the most ferocious physical abuse. Broken noses, collarbones, ribs, he was a walking emergency room, yet he seemingly always took the field. His teammates are still in awe today of his toughness and grit.

"Dandy Don" was also a character, always ready with a hilarious one-liner, like saying of Tom Landry, "He's such a perfectionist, if he was married to Raquel Welch, he'd expect her to cook."

The Cowboys had drafted enough talent around Meredith by the mid-1960s and finally took off in 1966, finishing 10-3-1 before playing Green Bay in the NFL Championship Game. The signal caller was named the Bert Bell Award winner as Player of the Year that season behind 2,805 passing yards and 24 touchdown throws, both personal bests. He also led the NFL in yards per completion for the second straight time at 15.8, hooking up often with speedy wideout Bob Hayes downfield.

Football history would have been written dramatically different if not for a couple of yards, as the Cowboys could have easily won the first two Super Bowls. They had first-and-goal from the 1-yard line against the Packers in that 1966 championship matchup, played in the Cotton Bowl, before a desperation fourth-down interception ended their day, 34-27. And then there was the famed Ice Bowl in Green Bay the following year, which the Cowboys lost in the final seconds, 21-17, following a 1-yard sneak from Packers quarterback Bart Starr. After each, Green Bay would go on to defeat the AFL champion for the title. If Dallas had instead won both, Meredith is all but certain to be a Hall of Famer.

As it were, after his stunning retirement following the 1968 campaign at just 30 years of age, Meredith became one of the first athletes to try broadcasting. He would grow into a legend in the Monday Night Football booth while also later making Lipton Iced Tea commercials.

That final season was arguably his best, too. He completed a career-high 55.3 percent of his passes, which was impressive at the time, while throwing 21 touchdowns against just 12 interceptions. His 88.4 passer rating that year was third in the league, and he was named to his third straight Pro Bowl.

Landry tried talking Meredith into playing another season – the two always had a complex relationship – but he didn't have any interest. The desire was simply gone.

The first true face of the franchise, Meredith was inducted to the Ring of Honor on Nov. 7, 1976.