AllMovie

Factsheet

• Starred in basketball, as well as football, at Mount Vernon High School in Texas.
• Was recruited by Bear Bryant for Texas A&M.
• Playing for SMU, was selected for the All-America team in 1958 and 1959.
• Was selected by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 1960 draft, then traded to the Dallas Cowboys.
• Made the Pro Bowl in 1966, 1967 and 1968, and was NFL Player of the Year in 1966.
• Retired in his prime in 1969.
• Became an analyst for ABC's Monday Night Football in 1970. Left to join NBC from 1974 to '76, then returned to ABC.
• Was known for his banter with co-analyst Howard Cosell, and for singing "Turn Out the Lights, the Party's Over" when he thought the outcome of the game had been determined.
• Was selected for the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982.
• Worked as an actor in many TV shows (including Police Story), and was also an ad pitchman (Lipton Tea).
• Retired from broadcasting in 1984.
• Starred in a 1985 stage production of The Odd Couple, with MNF's Frank Gifford.