Talk:Duane Thomas

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- Duane Thomas wore uniform number 33 with the Dallas Cowboys. He is listed as wearing 47 (though no team is specified). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.35.90.210 (talk) 02:31, 19 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

In his memoir, Thomas blamed much of his behavior with the Cowboys on intensive cocaine abuse; this would seem to merit mentioning in the "Books" section of the article at hand yet it is nowhere to be found.108.66.238.255 (talk) 11:14, 28 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The following content has been relocated here: undo emphasis:

==Treatment of Thomas in Coyne and Millman history==

The 2010 book The Ones Who Hit the Hardest by Chad Millman and Shawn Coyne^[1] on the Pittsburgh Steelers and their great 1970s rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys offers a critical assessment of Thomas. They note that Thomas was highly regarded by the Cowboys when he first arrived, and that he was an avid team player who worked very hard and produced spectacular results on the field. Unfortunately an agent who Thomas contracted to look after his financial matters so he could concentrate on football, pocketed large amounts of his cash and failed to cover his bills. A looming divorce also added to the runner's woes. Thomas' sterling play however helped Dallas to Super Bowl V where they faced the Baltimore Colts. In a game marked by poor Dallas performance and turnovers, (including 10 penalties for more than 100 yards) the authors hold that Thomas fumbled in the third quarter, 2 yards shy of a touchdown, in a disputed referee call. Coach Tom Landry, the authors contend, abandoned the running game in favor of action by quarterback Craig Morton. With plenty of time remaining, the Cowboy offense stalled, and Morton threw three interceptions in the fourth quarter, dooming Dallas' chances of a win. After the lost game, Landry in public comments blamed the 3rd quarter fumble by Thomas as the reason for the loss. This embittered the running back intensely, who felt his 1,116 yards that year, and his scoring of the only Cowboy touchdown in the game deserved better.^[2] (The Millman & Coyne book is accurately described by one reviewer as "a history of the '70s Steelers." Whether or not it's accurate about the '70s Cowboys, and Thomas, is much debated by readers at several NFL-related Internet sites.)

Relations deteriorated after that, state Millman and Coyne, and Thomas resented Landry's perceived lack of appreciation the following year. The pending divorce, and looming IRS audits and claims for back taxes added further pressure on the 23-year-old running back. Thomas became dissatisfied with his salary and demanded a renegotiation. The authors however note that Thomas was not the only player to run into financial difficulties or attempt to modify his contract.

"No one produced like Duane Thomas had in 1970. The evidence was incontrovertible.. Thomas understood that playing out his option was a ludicrous choice. The average career of an NFL player is less than five years. The Dallas Cowboys would get the best years of his football career and then he'd still be at the mercy of the owners and their commissioner. Thomas reconsidered their offer to extend their contract and realized that the new deal would cover his debts and alimony, but would leave him only subsistence wages. He'd be a star on the field but a lackey off of it. Sharing his personal problems with the Cowboys gave them the opportunity to punch his situation into one of their computers. It spit out the best possible deal for the organization- keeping its star running back under their thumb at the lowest price... [they] had him just where they wanted him- insecure about his position and saddled with debt. Some of the greatest players in the history of professional football- Lee Roy Jordan, Bob Lilly, Rayfield Wright – had faced the same circumstances before Thomas had. They had cowered and taken the Cowboy contract extensions."^[3]

Thomas attempted to get football great

Washington Redskins in 1973. The Cowboys did not win another Super Bowl until the coming of another running sensation, one Tony Dorsett.^[4] Dorsett claims that late one night early in his career he was at a house party when the doorbell rang. There, outside in the darkness stood the spectral figure of Duane Thomas. The ex-Cowboy favorite and the new sensation stared at one another for a long moment. Dorsett gestured, but no words were exchanged, only a brief nod, one running back to another. Then Thomas began to slowly melt back into the night, as mysteriously as he had come. Symbolically, it seemed, the torch had passed.^[4] As to his undoubted talent, Millman and Coyne maintain that Cowboy coach Landry learned to manage gifted players better, without heavy micro-management, as a result of Duane Thomas: "Landry had learned the hard Lesson with Duane Thomas. Sometimes you have to leave the gifted alone."^[4]

• Millman, Chad and Coyne, Shawn (2011) The Ones Who Hit the Hardest. Avery.
  ISBN 978-1592406654

Wikiuser100 (talk) 20:52, 15 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]