 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.As a rookie in 1964, he was played at left defensive end, but could not earn a starting position, although he managed to record 2 interceptions.