DALLAS — Duane Thomas, a running back for the Dallas Cowboys when they finally broke through and won a Super Bowl to cap the 1971 season, has died. He was 77.
The team said Thomas died Sunday but had no other details.
Thomas was with the Cowboys in 1970-71, a pair of tumultuous seasons plagued by a contract dispute that once led him to call coach Tom Landry “plastic man.”
He was the first player to score a touchdown at Texas Stadium in 1971, when he led the Cowboys with 11 rushing touchdowns.
Thomas was born and raised in Dallas before playing college football at West Texas State in the Texas Panhandle. He was a first-round pick by the Cowboys in 1970.
As a rookie in 1970, Thomas helped the Cowboys reach the Super Bowl, where they couldn’t shake the moniker of “next year’s champions” after losing to Baltimore.
After the season, Thomas’ demand for a restructured contract was rejected by the Cowboys and he was traded to New England. He refused to report to the Patriots, and the deal was voided by then-Commissioner Pete Rozelle.
Thomas refused to talk to reporters the entire 1971 season because he believed they had taken management’s side, but still played an important role for a team that beat Miami 24-3 for its first Super Bowl title.
The ill will between Thomas and the Cowboys continued, and he was traded to the San Diego Chargers before the 1972 season.
Thomas never showed up for training camp with San Diego and was sent to Washington. Thomas didn’t play in 1972 before spending the other two of his four pro seasons with Washington.
Thomas had 2,038 career yards rushing and 21 touchdowns, with 1,596 yards and 16 TDs coming with the Cowboys.