MOP Award for 1965: Pete Gent
By Matt Cordon (kh). Filed in Classic Player Profiles, Most Obscure Player Award, Pete Gent |
In 1964, the Dallas Cowboys signed a free agent named Pete Gent, a basketball player from Michigan State. This is what Peter Golenbeck wrote about Gent in Landry’s Boys: An Oral History of a Team and an Era
When Gent arrived at camp, Tom Landry had little use for him. However, the Cowboys offensive coordinator, Red Hickey, saw in Gent the making of a fine receiver. Hickey liked his soft hands and his aggressiveness, and he kept Landry from cutting the effervescent, free-spirited free agent. Thanks to Red Hickey, Gent became a Cowboy in 1964, and he remained on the team through the 1968 season, long enough to see the highs and lows of the great years of the Don Meredith Cowboys.
Gent caught his first pass in 1965, finishing with 16 receptions for 233 yards and 2 touchdowns. His best season was 1966, when he caught 27 passes for 474 yards, a 17.6-yard-per-catch, but he only caught 25 more passes in his last two years with the team.
So why “honor” him with the first retrospective Most Obscure Player Award since September? Well, Grizz at Blogging the Boys mentioned the book North Dallas Forty in a post the other day, and so I might as well do something with this blog now that I am becoming my only reader!
And who is Pete Gent, you ask? He wrote North Dallas Forty
After Gent retired from football, he wrote a controversial, hard-edged novel, North Dallas Forty, a book about how a football team takes advantage of its players and treats them like faceless cattle. In the book, Gent used all he saw and heard, adding embellishments for dramatic effect. Cowboys owner Clint Murchison, himself a rebel, loved North Dallas Forty. Tex Schramm and Tom Landry, who were protective of their image and were portrayed as manipulative, uncaring men, passionately hated it.
The 1965 season itself started promising, with the Cowboys winning over the Giants and Redskins to begin with a 2-0 record. But a five-game losing streak caused the Cowboys to fall into the cellar, and though Dallas won five of their final seven games, the 7-7 record has been viewed in history as a disappointing one. On the other hand, the Cowboys would not suffer another losing season for 20 years.
Technorati Tags: Dallas Cowboys, North Dallas Forty, Peter Gent, Tom Landry
Monday, October 1st 2007 at 1:56 pm
Was curious if you had any personal information on Gent? Was he married? Any kids? Where is he today? What kind of person/reputation did he/does he have?
Thanks,
Curious
Tuesday, August 5th 2008 at 2:53 am
Pete has two kids, Holly Gent Palmo, b. 1963; and Carter Davis Gent, b. 1976. He resides in Bangor, Michigan and is currently working on a novel.
Pete has written numerous books. The follow up to North Dallas Forty ‘North Dallas After Forty’, Texas Celebrity Turkey Trot, and THe Franchise. He also wrote a book about coaching his boy Carter in little league. The name of the book escapes me at this moment.
Pete also has talked about his injuries from football and relying on a TENS device that sends electric shock to the muscles in his injured back to reduce pain and to relax the muscles. I remember him talking about having to turn it up so high that it actually burned blisters on his back.
Pete also was good buddies with Dandy Don Meredith during his time with the Cowboys. I believe he suffered a broken leg during the season that they played The Packers in the Ice Bowl. He regrets this a lot cause he felt he would have been able to handle the cold weather, since he came from Michigan, better than a lot of The Cowboys players that day.
Leroy Jordan and Pete didn’t get along at all during his time with The Cowboys. Pete was a free spirit and partied with players black or white. Leroy, at that time, was a southern boy and was pretty open with his racist kind of thinking. He and Pete had several fights during practice scrimmages.
Some people say that they thought that Pete kind of elevated ‘Phil Elliot’ his supposed alter ego in North Dallas Forty. Pete explains that he was told by Landry (I think) that he did have the best (softest) hands in football. Other players who were there say that Petes book was dead on with the way it was.
There was an audio interview with Pete on the net at one time. It is pretty good but the interviewer annoyingly kept calling Pete ‘Pete Gent’ with a hard ‘G’ as in Guardian and not how his last name is pronounced with is ‘Gent’ as in gentleman or ‘jent’.
Tuesday, August 5th 2008 at 11:35 am
John:
Gent’s book about his son’s Little League team is called “The Last Magic Summer”.
But speaking of ND40: I’ve always wondered about Gent’s scathing portrayal of the young “Christian” quarterback character, very clearly meant to be a slap at Roger Staubach.
In fact, Gent’s last year with the Cowboys was 1968, while Roger didn’t join the team until 1969 — one wonders how well the two knew each other? What did Roger ever do to Gent to deserve the treatment he got in Gent’s book?
Wednesday, August 13th 2008 at 10:11 am
First of all I was very happy to see the posts are relatively recent because I went searching for some updated info on Peter Gent and his son Carter after re-reading ‘The Last magic Summer’ and was afraid the public might have forgotten about Mr. Gent. He is a very talented and insightful writer and North Dallas Forty deserves to be remembered as a great novel and not just a great ’sports’ book. ‘Summer’ is also a book that displays his ability to tell a story with both wit and candor. (Also a great read for many fathers on so many levels) John, do you know how his family is doing? Carter seemed to have some of his father’s talent even as a child. What is his latest novel about? Thanks.
Sunday, September 7th 2008 at 1:50 am
Pete has been asked about the character of Hartman. This was the backup QB who was a devout Christian and family man. He says that it is not based on Roger Staubach as many people think and have claimed. The character was a composite of several players who were into the born again Christian thing that he played with during his time with the Cowboys.
Sunday, September 7th 2008 at 2:05 pm
Gent leaves in 1968; Roger joins in 1969; the book is published in 1973.
And its just a coincidence that the Christian character, out of 40 positions on the team, is a back-up QB.
OK.
Wednesday, September 17th 2008 at 12:33 pm
Pete did break his leg against the Cleveland Browns in the Conference Championship game Dec. 24, 1967 at the Cotton Bowl. I was 12 years old at the time and at the game. Bob Hayes had a huge day, and the ‘Boys advanced to play Green Bay for the NFL Title the next week, Dec. 31st at Lambeau.