Duane Thomas

Duane Julius Thomas (born June 21, 1947 in Dallas, Texas) is a former American football running back in the National Football League who played four seasons for the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins from 1970 to 1974.

Professional career

Thomas played college football at West Texas State University and was drafted in the first round of the 1970 NFL Draft by the Cowboys. As a rookie in 1970, he led Dallas and finished eighth in the NFL in rushing with 803 yards on 151 carries (5.3 yards per carry) and five touchdowns. Thomas led the league in touchdowns in 1971 with eleven rushing touchdowns and thirteen overall. He also led Dallas in rushing with 793 yards on 175 carries. After missing the entire 1972 season when he was cut by the San Diego Chargers during pre-season, Thomas played with the Redskins in 1973 and 1974, rushing for a total of 442 yards. His career rushing totals were 2038 yards on 453 carries, with 21 touchdowns. He also caught 38 passes for 297 yards, with three touchdowns.

In a contract dispute with Cowboys management, Thomas was traded before the 1971 season to the New England Patriots. Thomas immediately got into a dispute with Patriots coach John Mazur, and after a few days, the NFL granted the Patriots' request to void the trade, sending the disgruntled player back to the Cowboys. Thomas refused to speak with any of the Cowboys players, coaches or management for the entire season. Despite his lack of communication, Thomas helped the Cowboys to their first Super Bowl (Super Bowl VI) win that same season. According to Hunter S. Thompson: "All he did was take the ball and run every time they called his number - which came to be more and more often, and in the Super Bowl Thomas was the whole show." (Thompson: Fear and Loathing: On The Campaign Trail '72) The Cowboys successfully traded Thomas to the San Diego Chargers during training camp in 1972.^[1]

Book

In 1989, Thomas, with the help of freelance sports writer Paul Zimmerman, wrote Duane Thomas and the Fall of America's Team, a memoir of Thomas' time playing for the Dallas Cowboys. A reviewer of the book commented, "The title implies, although the text nowhere suggests, that there is a relation between the fate of running back Thomas and the decline in the fortunes of the Dallas Cowboys. Thomas, when he appeared on the professional football scene in 1970, was acclaimed as an outstanding player but within two years was stigmatized as an "emotionally disturbed misfit," largely because of his periods of total silence. With coauthor Zimmerman, a freelance writer, Thomas attempts to show why that classification was unfair, and excerpts from his journal depict a disillusioned idealist; but at a remove of almost two decades, few will care."^{[citation needed]}

In August 2008 Thomas visited the Cowboys during their training camp in Oxnard, California.

References

External links

• http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/ThomDu00.htm
• Duane Thomas and the Fall of America's team at Amazon.com.