Duane Thomas, the former Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman who played a key role in his team's first Super Bowl championship in 1972, passed away this week in Sedona, Arizona, at the age of 77.
Team officials confirmed his death Dallas Morning News Tuesday, but no cause of death was given. Thomas' NFL career was brief, playing just two seasons with the Cowboys and four seasons overall, but his tenure was memorable. Drafted as a first-round pick in 1970, Thomas led the team offensively in his rookie season, despite not starting until the fifth game.
During his first offseason with the Cowboys, Thomas demanded a three-year contract renegotiation, but when management rejected his request, he slammed president Tex Schramm as a “cheat”, director of player personnel Gil Brandt as a “liar” and head coach Tom Landry as a “plastic man… not a man at all”.
Thomas was later traded to the New England Patriots for Carl Garrett. However, when he refused to show up for practice, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle made an unprecedented move to cancel the trade and send both players back to their original teams. Although Thomas refused to talk to his teammates or the media during the 1971 season, he became the first player to score a touchdown in the newly rebuilt Texas Stadium.
Following the 1971 regular season, he also scored a touchdown in the Cowboys' 24–3 victory over the Miami Dolphins in the 1972 Super Bowl VI. Before the championship, when asked about playing in “the ultimate game,” Thomas famously replied, “If it's the ultimate game… why are they playing me again the next year?”
Thomas, known for his dour demeanor off the field, was described by his daughter, Zalika Thomas, as a “very talkative” and “very eloquent” man. She said Thomas was also an artist who loved jazz and 1970s R&B music, particularly the Commodores, Marvin Gaye and Earth, Wind & Fire.
“My dad was a very loving father and very strategic,” Thomas recalled Tuesday. “I'm very much like my dad. He always said that about me growing up. When I started having mentors in my life, I totally understood that. Very strategic, analytical and very compassionate.”
Thomas' former teammate Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson also paid tribute to him in a Facebook post Monday. “The great Duane Thomas passed away yesterday,” Henderson wrote. “He was a great Cowboy. He was one of my roommates in Thousand Oaks during his comeback. Lots of laughs and memories.”