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Don Talbert

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Don Talbert
No. 71, 72
Position:Offensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1939-03-01) March 1, 1939 (age 85)
Louisville, Mississippi, U.S.
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High school:Texas City (TX)
College:Texas
NFL draft:1961 / round: 8 / pick: 100
AFL draft:1962 / round: 34 / pick: 271
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:103
Games started:32
Fumble recoveries:3
Military career
Allegiance United States
Service / branch United States Army
Years of service1963–1965
Rank Lieutenant
UnitMilitary Police Corps
Battles / warsVietnam War
AwardsVietnam Campaign Medal
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Don Larry Talbert (born March 1, 1939) is a former American football offensive tackle who played eight years, interrupted by two years in Vietnam, in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys including the Super Bowl VI champion Cowboys. Prior to that he was an All-American college football at the University of Texas at Austin.

Early life

Talbert attended Texas City High School, where he played football and basketball.

He played college football at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a two-way tackle and a three year letterman. He missed the 1958 season with a broken leg.

As a fifth year senior in 1961, he was named All-SWC, an All-American and was voted outstanding SWC lineman in the Dallas Times Herald poll. He helped Texas to win co-conference championships twice, tie Alabama in the 1960 Bluebonnet Bowl and win the 1962 Cotton Bowl Classic. The Longhorns finished the 1961 season ranked #3, the best final ranking since 1950.

In 1992, he was inducted into the Longhorns Hall of Honor.[1]

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys (first stint)

Talbert was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the eighth round (100th overall) of the 1961 NFL Draft with a future draft pick, which allowed the team to draft him before his college eligibility was over. He was also selected by the Houston Oilers in the 34th round (271st overall) of the 1962 AFL Draft.

As a rookie in 1962, although he played as a defensive end and linebacker, he was mostly the backup at right offensive tackle and got a chance to start in 4 games.

Talbert was in the reserve officer program at Texas and had to miss the next 2 seasons because of military service in the Vietnam War, where he was a police lieutenant in Saigon.[2] He returned to the team in 1965 and played in all 14 games as a backup.

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons selected him from the Cowboys roster in the 1966 NFL Expansion Draft.[3] He was the franchise's first starter at left tackle. He was a three-year starter. On July 3, 1969, he was traded along with Errol Linden to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for offensive linemen Roy Schmidt, Jim Ferguson and Jerry Jones.[4]

New Orleans Saints

Talbert was a two-year starter at left tackle with the New Orleans Saints. On August 2, 1971, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for defensive end Doug Moore and a fourth round draft choice (#104-Eric Allen).[5]

Dallas Cowboys (third stint)

In 1971, he was a backup until replacing Ralph Neely in the starting lineup at left tackle in the eighth game, after Neely had a motorcycle accident. Talbert promptly sprained his ankle and he was first replaced with Forrest Gregg and later by Tony Liscio. Nonetheless, he was able to be a part of the Super Bowl VI winning team.

He was waived on September 7, 1972 and later put on the future list, where he remained for the rest of the season.[6] He was re-signed in 1973, but was waived on September 5 and placed on the team taxi squad, before being waived again on September 19.[7][8]

Houston Texans/Shreveport Steamer (WFL)

Talbert was selected by the Chicago Fire in the sixth round (64th overall) of the 1974 WFL Pro Draft of NFL and CFL Players. He was signed by the Houston Texans.[9] After playing 11 games, the team relocated to Shreveport, Louisiana on September 18, where they were renamed as the Shreveport Steamer.

Personal life

Both of Don's brothers played college football at Texas as well. Charlie was a two-way starter at defensive end and receiver; the leading receiver on the 1963 National Championship team. His youngest brother Diron Talbert played defensive tackle in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Redskins. Diron was also inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor, in 2005 after being all-southwest conference player.

References

  1. ^ "Don Talbert Texas bio". Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  2. ^ "Happy Talbert Rejoins Grid Cowboys". Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  3. ^ "Falcons Select Claridge". Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  4. ^ "Atlanta Falcons Trade Ray Ogden". Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  5. ^ "Pro Grid Traders Busy". Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  6. ^ "Day Of Shuffling". Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  7. ^ "Football". Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  8. ^ "Holloway Named Back Of Week". Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  9. ^ "Too Late". Retrieved February 19, 2020.
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