Pugh had a rocky start to his 14-year career with the Cowboys

By RAY BUCK

rbuck@star-telegram.com

Pugh has never forgotten the day he made Tex Schramm’s blood boil.

He had just been drafted — and signed — by the Dallas Cowboys out of Elizabeth City State College.

As an 11th-round pick in 1965, Pugh was given a $1,000 signing bonus on top of a one-year, $10,000 contract.

He later would become one of Schramm’s favorite all-time Cowboys. But for now, he represented an investment to Schramm. A 20-year-old kid with potential.

Pugh chose to pass the time by playing in a pickup softball game.

“When you’re young and in college, you think you can do anything,” Pugh said. “Well, I was going to make this Willie Mays catch in center field.”

A la Mays with his back to the plate, Jethro lunged for the ball, landed awkwardly and separated his shoulder — not exactly the best way to start an NFL career.

He quietly underwent surgery at Norfolk (Va.) General Hospital (once the surgeon convinced him that he had operated on Cleveland quarterback Frank Ryan).

Embarrassed, Jethro begged the hospital staff not to tell his mother.

A school official queried him, “Have you told the Cowboys yet? You really need to tell them.”

He did. And as longtime personnel man Gil Brandt recalls, he thinks he saw smoke come out of Schramm’s ears that day.

“Tex was always money conscious — that was just his nature [as team president and general manager],” Brandt said. “As soon as we heard that Jethro had separated his shoulder, Tex screamed, ‘[Deleted expletive], ‘I don’t want to pay this guy if he’s not a player.’ I had to tell him, ‘I think we should keep him.’.”

Smart move. Pugh went on to become an integral part of the Cowboys’ original Doomsday Defense: LE Larry Cole, LT Pugh, RT Bob Lilly, RE George Andrie.

Pugh would also chalk up the fourth-longest career in Cowboys history: 14 seasons. Only Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Bill Bates and Mark Tuinei played more — 15 apiece.

The Willie Mays catch

What happened during a simple softball game turned out to be a valuable lesson for a young athlete who thought he was bulletproof.

The lesson: He wasn’t.

“Tex was totally [miffed],” Pugh recalled. “I said, ‘Mr. Schramm, the Oakland Raiders offered me more money than you’ve given me.’ You got to keep in mind that I was only 20 years old. Well, [Schramm] calmed down a little after that.”

Rookie Pugh never missed any time with the shoulder injury. This had an immediate impact on Tom Landry, who knew he had a player.

The family values

Pugh left home in Windsor, N.C., to earn an education at Elizabeth City State at the age of 16. That’s why he was only 20 when he signed to play in the NFL.

Growing up poor in Windsor, Pugh learned most of his basic values from his mother, Mamie, and his grandmother, Agnes.

“My mother stretched every penny to the limit,” Pugh recalled. “And when it was time to sign with the Cowboys, my grandmother told me: ‘You do this so you can tell someone else how to do it.’ In our lingo, I knew what she meant.”

Jethro became a pioneer in his family.

This would later help him become a successful businessman after football.

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