 In 2001, he was inducted into the Southwestern Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame.In the 1964 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys were looking to shore up its offense by improving at wide receiver.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.