 Head coach Tom Landry reached an agreement with the Pittsburgh Steelers to acquire Buddy Dial, who was one of the top receivers at the time in the league, in exchange for selecting Appleton with the team's first round draft choice and trading him immediately afterwards on January 1.Although the Steelers thought that Appleton would sign with them, he ended up joining the Houston Oilers of the AFL, who had also drafted him in the first round.The voice of the Steelers, Myron Cope, described the shenanigans both teams used in the attempt to sign Appleton as the "Buddy Dial for Nothing" trade and was one of his favorite stories.