This post is part of the 50 Seasons in 50 Weeks Series.The Cowboys had a pretty good draft in 1974, which we will address tomorrow, but the offseason in 1974 focused more heavily on what the team was likely to lose.
Two key players announced during the offseason that they had signed futures contracts with the new World Football League. Others signed contracts, but ended up returning to the NFL after all. Here is a look at the players who considered jumping ship to the WFL.
1. Calvin Hill
Hill was the team's first 1,000-yard rusher, and he was probably the most important player in the Dallas offense. Hill signed with the Hawaiians, with whom Hill played in 1975.
2. Craig Morton
Morton was too good to remain a backup, and he signed a contract with the Houston Texans of the WFL. He returned to the Cowboys for the 1974 season, but after one game, he was traded to the New York Giants. The upside: the Cowboys received a number one pick from the Morton trade, and Dallas took Randy White in 1975 with that pick.
3. Mike Montgomery
Montgomery played for Dallas in 1972 and 1973, but he was a minor player. He signed with Birmingham Americans.
4. Otto Stowe
Stowe played for Dallas in 1973 in a trade between Miami and Dallas. He signed with the WFL Birmingham club. During the 1974 preseason, Tom Landry suspended Stowe for lack of effort, and the team later released the receiver. Stowe played for the Broncos in 1974, but he never played again.
5. Pat Toomay
Toomay was no longer a full-time starter by 1974, and he signed a futures contract with the WFL, though he never played in the new league. Dallas traded Toomay in 1975 to Buffalo.
6. Rayfield Wright, Jethro Pugh
Both Wright and Pugh signed with the Birmingham Americans in 1974, but both were under contract with the Cowboys for several seasons. Pugh would not be able to leave until after the 1976 season, and Wright had to stay until 1977. Since the WFL folded in 1975, neither left.
7. D.D. Lewis
Lewis signed with the Memphis Southmen, which was the same club that signed Larry Czonka, Jim Kiick, and Paul Warfield of the Dolphins. Lewis never left the Cowboys.
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