Duane Thomas

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Duane Thomas
Date of birth	June 21, 1947 (age 59)
Place of birth	Dallas, TX
Position(s)	Running back
College	West Texas A&M
NFL Draft	1970 / Round 1/ Pick 23
Statistics	Pro Football Reference DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1970-1971 1973-1974	Dallas Cowboys Washington Redskins

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

Thomas played college football at West Texas A&M 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 and five touchdowns. Thomas led the league in touchdowns in the 1971 NFL season 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, 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 3 touchdowns.

In a contract dispute with Cowboys management, Duane Thomas was traded before the 1971 season. The league voided the trade after only a few days and Duane returned the Cowboys. Duane refused to speak with any of the Cowboys players, coaches or management for the entire season. Despite his lack of communication, Duane helped the Cowboys to their first Super Bowl (Super Bowl VI in 1972) win that same season. Acoording 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 Duane to the San Diego Chargers at the end of the 1971 season.