Longtime Dallas Cowboys fans will be quite familiar with Duane Thomas, who passed away on Sunday in Sedona, Arizona.
No cause of death was announced as of press time, Thomas was 77 years old.
While he wore the number 33, he was a hometown hero, having been born and raised in Dallas.
He was a standout running back at Dallas Lincoln before heading off to college at West Texas State University (now West Texas A&M) where he played under Joe Kerbel, the winningest coach in that school’s program history. While at West Texas, he shared the backfield with Eugene “Mercury” Morris, who also went on to a professional career and played in three Super Bowls.
Thomas was taken by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the NFL draft in 1970.
He got his first start for the Cowboys in the fifth game of the season, after which he sprinted to the top of the rushing charts, and earned the honors of Rookie of the Year. He totalled 803 rushing yards that season, right behind Rushing Champion Larry Brown of the Washington Redskins. But Thomas did it in only 151 carries, and would later become the first rookie to gain more than 100 yards in a playoff run.
After a contract dispute and an unsuccessful attempt at a trade deal with the New England Patriots, Thomas returned to Dallas in time to score the first touchdown at the new Texas Stadium.
Also due to the contract dispute, Thomas went notably silent during his second season with the Cowboys, refusing to speak to the media. However, his performance on the field created plenty of noise.
Thomas led the league with 13 touchdowns during the season, 11 of them being scored on the ground (also top of the league). He gained 95 rushing yards and a touchdown in the Dallas Cowboys’ first ever Super Bowl win, beating the Miami Dolphins 24-3. He was named All Pro for the season.
Notorious writer Hunter S. Thompson remarked of Thomas’ performance that season, “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.”
According to the official Dallas Cowboys website, Thomas rushed for a total of 1,596 yards with an average of 4.89 yards per carry with the Cowboys, adding “the Cowboys’ record is 4.85 (DeMarco Murray, 2011-14), only because Thomas didn’t qualify with enough attempts.”
He was then traded to the San Diego Chargers, but never played for that team. He went on to play two seasons for the Washington Redskins in 1974-75.
Thomas released a memoir, “Duane Thomas and the Fall of America’s Team” in 1989 and was inducted into the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
