Peter Gent

Peter Gent (b. 1942) never intended to become a football player. In high school and college he was a basketball center, and upon graduation was drafted by the Baltimore Bullets to play in the NBA. On a whim, he attended a training camp for the Dallas Cowboys, who asked him to join the team. Over four seasons he did well for the team, but his contributions off the field were more important. The first Cowboy to wear his hair long, Gent brought the ’60s to one of America’s most conservative franchises. At his career’s end, Gent turned to writing, debuting with the sensational North Dallas Forty, a look at the dark side of professional football, which was made into a film in 1979 starring Nick Nolte. He lives in his hometown of Bangor, Michigan.