Former Dallas Cowboys running back Duane Thomas passes away at 77

Former Dallas Cowboys running back Duane Thomas passed away this week at the age of 77, according to the Dallas Morning News. Cowboys team officials confirmed to the local paper that the former running back died on Sunday.

Thomas, a former star at West Texas State, joined the Cowboys in 1970 after the team selected him with a first-round pick at No. 23 overall. As a rookie, he didn’t start right away. However, once he took hold of the job, he was off and running.

Making his first start in the fifth game of his first season, Thomas led the team in rushing. He finished eighth in the then-26-team league with 803 yards. He had 151 carries with a league-leading average of 5.3 yards per carry). Thomas also scored 5 touchdowns.

The Cowboys had two playoff wins in Thomas’ rookie season, over Detroit and San Francisco. He posted 135 and 143 yards, respectively, becoming the first rookie in NFL history with two 100-yard rushing playoff games.

Despite a successful first season, a contract dispute between Thomas and the Cowboys led to his trade to the New England Patriots. The deal never went through, however, with the commissioner voiding parts of the trade and ultimately sending him back to Dallas where he’d have one of the best seasons of his career.

Thomas’ trade failure leads to Cowboys’ first Super Bowl

In 1971, Thomas led the league in rushing touchdowns with 11 and total touchdowns with 13. He was able to play against the team he was supposed to be traded to in October of 1971 before going on to the playoffs with Dallas. He earned All-Pro honors and helped the Cowboys to a victory over the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI. Thomas posted 95 rushing yards and a score in the 24–3 win.

After Dallas, Thomas moved on to the Chargers briefly, then the team in Washington DC. The Redskins were the last team he suited up for to play a regular-season game, though he made it back to the league with the Cowboys, then the Packers in the late 70s.

Though he hadn’t yet retired from the league, Thomas got a job at Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation in the legal department. He then received a call from the Green Bay Packers and went to try out. He did not make the roster for the regular season, however, putting an end to his NFL run.

In 1989, Thomas wrote Duane Thomas and the Fall of America’s Team, a memoir of Thomas’ time playing for the Dallas Cowboys, with the help of freelance sportswriter Paul Zimmerman.