Duane Thomas, the former NFL running back who won a Super Bowl title with the Dallas Cowboys, has died. He was 77.
The Cowboys confirmed Thomas' death to Pro Football Talk and the Dallas Morning News.
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Duane Thomas, #33 of the Dallas Cowboys, carries the ball against the San Francisco 49ers during the NFL NFC Championship game on January 2, 1972, at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. (Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
“The great Duane Thomas passed away yesterday. He was a great Cowboy. When he came back, he was one of my roommates in Thousand Oaks. Lots of laughs and good times. REST IN PEACE DUANE THOMAS,” the running back's former teammate, Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson, wrote on Facebook.
Thomas only played four years in the NFL. He was selected in the first round of the 1970 draft by the Cowboys out of West Texas A&M.
He began his rookie season with 803 rushing yards and five touchdowns and helped lead the team to Super Bowl V against the Baltimore Colts, which Dallas fell short in.
Thomas was considered the Cowboys' running back of the future, but a contract dispute and war of words with coach Tom Landry led to a trade in 1971. Initially dealt to the New England Patriots, the deal was voided by then-NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle.
Dallas Cowboys running back Duane Thomas, #33, runs with the ball but is tackled from behind by Indianapolis Colts linebacker Ted Hendricks. (Focus on Sport via Getty Images)
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Thomas returned to the Cowboys and took a vow of silence. In that second year, he led the NFL with 11 rushing touchdowns and racked up 793 rushing yards.
According to Pro Football Talk, Thomas finally broke his silence before the team's Super Bowl VI victory over the Miami Dolphins.
“If it is the last [game]”Why are they going to play it again next year?” he said.
He had 95 rushing yards and a touchdown in the 24-3 victory.
The win didn't seem to change the perception of Thomas. He was traded to the San Diego Chargers, where he didn't show up for training camp. He was traded to the Washington Redskins and played two seasons with the team.
He rushed for 442 yards and five touchdowns in 24 games.
Duane Thomas in action, running back against the Miami Dolphins, New Orleans, La. (Walter Iooss Jr./Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Thomas played for the Cowboys for a second time in 1976, but was released before the season began. He attempted to revive his career in the Canadian Football League and with the Green Bay Packers, but failed to make it into the regular season.
In 2004, he told the Houston Chronicle that he valued the game and what it meant to him.
“What the game meant to me at that particular moment was to set a goal and achieve it. Whatever differences there were, whatever controversies there were, they were usually insignificant.
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“I remember those things, but the most important thing I remember is the meaning of friendship, the meaning of teamwork and facing adversity and achieving the goal. That's what it was all about for me. I was at peace with myself, even with everything that was going on.”
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