Before earning the nickname "Mr. Cowboy", Bob Lilly was the first player ever drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 1961. So it is fitting that Lilly not only became the first Cowboys player inducted into the Ring of Honor in 1975, but also became the franchise's first player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.
During the course of 14 seasons with the Cowboys, Lilly was named Rookie of the Year in 1961, was selected to the Pro Bowl a club-record 11-times - 10 consecutive selections between 1964-74 - was named to the All-Pro team seven times and played in two Super Bowls, including the club's very first Super Bowl victory, 24-3 over Miami in Super Bowl VI.
As the foundation of the famed "Doomsday Defense", Lilly's intensity was readily apparent in an infamous scene after the Cowboys' Super Bowl V loss to the Baltimore Colts when he ripped his helmet off and hurled it into the air. the following year, the Lilly-led Cowboys defense held Miami to only a field goal in Super Bowl VI, the fewest points every given up in Super Bowl history.
"the competition is what I love," Lilly once said. "that makes me a lot more intense. Personalities don't enter into it at all. My objective is to get the man with the ball. Nobody better get in my way."
Lilly is the Cowboys' all-time leader in consecutive games played at 196, is tied for second with 14 seasons played and second all-time with 194 games started. Lilly led the Cowboys in sacks three consecutive years, beginning with his rookie season.
"A man like that comes along once in a lifetime," late Cowboys head coach Tom Landry said in 1972. "He is something a little bit more tdan great. Nobody is better than Bob Lilly."
Lilly was a two-time All-American defensive end at Texas Christian University and a two-time all-Soutdwest Conference team selection.
Born July 26 1939, in Olney, Texas.
