Don Larry Talbert (born March 1, 1939) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

offensive tackle in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

, Atlanta Falcons, and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. He was drafted in the eighth round of the

1961 NFL Draft The 1961 National Football League draft took place at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia on December 27–28, 1960. The league would later hold an expansion draft for the Minnesota Vikings expansion franchise. This draft was also the first reg ...

. He played college football at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

Early years

Talbert attended

Texas City High School Texas City High School (TCHS) is a public high school in Texas City, Texas, in the Greater Houston area. It is one of two high schools in the Texas City Independent School District (TCISD), the other being La Marque High School. The main school ...

, where he practiced football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. He accepted a football scholarship from the

, where he was a two-way tackle. He missed the 1958 season with a broken leg. As a fifth year senior in 1961, he was named All-SWC, All-American and was voted outstanding SWC lineman in the

Dallas Times Herald The ''Dallas Times Herald'', founded in 1888 by a merger of the ''Dallas Times'' and the '' Dallas Herald'', was once one of two major daily newspapers serving the Dallas, Texas ( USA) area. It won three Pulitzer Prizes, all for photography, an ...

poll. In 1992, he was inducted into the Longhorns Hall of Honor.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys (first stint)

Talbert was selected by the

in the eighth round (100th overall) of the

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 The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...

in the 34th round (271st overall) of the

1962 AFL Draft The 1962 American Football League draft was held on December 2, 1961. With the first overall pick, the Oakland Raiders selected quarterback Roman Gabriel. Order Boston Patriots draft picks (selected sixth) Buffalo Bills draft picks (sele ...

. As a rookie in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wo ...

, although he played as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

, 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 The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, where he was a police lieutenant in Saigon. He returned to the team in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

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. He was the franchise's first starter at

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, ...

. He was a three-year starter. On July 3,

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 ** Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

, he was traded along with

Errol Linden Errol Joseph Linden (October 21, 1937 – March 10, 1983) was a National Football League (NFL) offensive tackle. Linden was selected in the tenth round by the Detroit Lions out of the University of Houston in the 1961 NFL Draft and played te ...

to the

in exchange for

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

men Roy Schmidt, Jim Ferguson and Jerry Jones.

New Orleans Saints

Talbert was a two-year starter at

with the

. On August 2,

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

, he was traded to the

in exchange for

Doug Moore and a fourth round draft choice (#104-

Eric Allen Eric Andre Allen (born November 22, 1965) is an American football coach and former cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints, and Oakland Raiders from 1988 to 2001. A six-time ...

Dallas Cowboys (third stint)

, he was a backup until replacing

Ralph Neely Ralph Eugene Neely (September 12, 1943 – January 5, 2022) was an American professional football player who was an offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL). He played 13 seasons and 172 games for the Cowbo ...

in the starting lineup at

in the eighth game, after he had a motorcycle accident. Talbert promptly sprained his ankle, he was first replaced with

Forrest Gregg Alvis Forrest Gregg (October 18, 1933 – April 12, 2019) was an American professional football player and coach. A Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive tackle for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), he was a part of six NFL champi ...

and later by

Tony Liscio Anthony Liscio (July 2, 1940 – June 18, 2017) was an American football offensive tackle in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Tulsa. Early years Liscio attended Westinghouse Hi ...

. He was able to be a part of the

Super Bowl VI Super Bowl VI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...

winning team. He was waived on September 7,

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

and later put on the future list, where he remained for the rest of the season. He was re-signed in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

, but was waived on September 5 and placed on the team

taxi squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

, before being waived again on September 19.

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. After playing 11 games, the team relocated to Shreveport, Louisiana on September 18, where they were renamed as the

Shreveport Steamer The Shreveport Steamer were a professional American football team in the World Football League. The franchise began the 1974 season in Houston, Texas, as the Houston Texans (no connection to the current NFL team of the same name), playing the ...

Personal life

His younger brother

Diron Talbert Diron Vester Talbert (born July 1, 1944) is a former American football defensive end. Football career Talbert played college football at the University of Texas where he was inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Fame in 2005. Talbert played for th ...

played defensive tackle in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the maj ...

for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...

and

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talbert, Don 1939 births Living people People from Texas City, Texas Players of American football from Texas Sportspeople from the Houston metropolitan area American football offensive tackles Texas Longhorns football players Dallas Cowboys players Atlanta Falcons players New Orleans Saints players United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army officers Military personnel from Texas