 Lillyc. 1968 | |||||||||
| No. 74 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1939-07-26)July 26, 1939 (age 85) Olney, Texas, U.S.[1] | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 260 lb (118 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Pendleton (Pendleton, Oregon) | ||||||||
| College: | TCU (1958–1960) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1961: 1st round, 13th pick | ||||||||
| AFL draft: | 1961: 2nd round, 14th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Robert Lewis Lilly (born July 26, 1939), nicknamed "Mr. Cowboy", is an American former professionalfootball player who was adefensive tackle for theDallas Cowboys of theNational Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He playedcollege football for theTCU Horned Frogs. Lilly was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1980 and theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 1981.
Born inOlney, Texas, Lilly grew up inThrockmorton, the son of John and Margaret (Redwine) Lilly.[2] Lilly's father and grandfather were both involved in farming and ranching, but the severe1950s Texas drought forced his family to move at the end of his junior year atThrockmorton High School, where he received All-District honors in football. In basketball, he was named All-District and honorable-mention All-state.
In 1956, Lilly and his family relocated to northeasternOregon toPendleton—where his mother had family and jobs were available—for his senior year. AtPendleton High School, he was named All-state infootball and second-team All-state inbasketball for the Buckaroos.[3]
Lilly accepted anathletic scholarship fromTexas Christian University, where he was nicknamed "Tiger [Lilly]" by his teammates. As a sophomore with the Horned Frogs, he was a part of the team that won theSouthwest Conference (SWC) championship, where he was mainly a backup (one start).
He became a starter the next year, playing alongside All-SWCdefensive tackleDon Floyd, while helping his team earn a tie for the SWC championship with theUniversity of Texas and theUniversity of Arkansas. He also received All-SWC honors on a defense that allowed only eight points per game.
Lilly was a consensusAll-American as a senior in1960 and was a 2006 inductee to theEast-West Shrine Game Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981. He is a notable brother ofSigma Phi Epsilonfraternity, Texas Gamma chapter.[4][5]
TheDallas Cowboys traded their first-round draft choice in the1961 NFL draft, as part of the deal to getEddie LeBaron from theWashington Redskins, so the Cowboys had to trade their first-round pick (#4-Gary Collins) in the1962 NFL draft along withoffensive tacklePaul Dickson, in exchange for theCleveland Browns' first-round draft choice (13th overall) in 1961, to select Lilly, the first draft choice in franchise history.[6]
Lilly began his career as adefensive end in1961, but midway through1963, his third season, Cowboys coachTom Landry moved him todefensive tackle. Lilly made the adjustment, becoming the main man in Dallas' vaunted "Doomsday Defense". As a tackle, Lilly was a first-team All-NFL choice every year from1964 through1969, then again in1971. In1970, the Cowboys finally made the Super Bowl, against theBaltimore Colts, only to lose the game (V), 16–13, on a field goal in the final nine seconds; after the game, he infamously tossed his helmet in the air, frustrated at the loss. In1971, he and the Cowboys convincingly wonSuper Bowl VI over theMiami Dolphins, 24–3. His 29-yard sack of DolphinquarterbackBob Griese (at the time an NFL record) is regarded as one of the most memorable plays in Super Bowl defensive history. This was the most famous play of his 14-year hall-of-fame career.
Lilly was named anAll-Pro seven times, and was selected to play in 11Pro Bowl games. He was also drafted in the second round (14th overall) in the1961 AFL Draft by theDallas Texans (nowKansas City Chiefs). His greatest assets were his pass-rushing skills and his ability to slice plays open with his agility and instincts. Lilly had a distinct stance, the so-called four-point stance, placing both hands on the field instead of the more usual one, generating greater force when rushing straight ahead. Lilly's agility and quickness helped him score four defensive touchdowns in his career. His first was returning an interception 56 yards in 1964, while the other three came on fumble recoveries.
What separated Lilly from other defensive tackles was his combination of agility, conditioning, and strength (although he did not start lifting weights until his sixth season in the NFL),[7] that allowed him to make tackles from sideline to sideline.NFL Films did an eight-minute feature on Lilly and called him the "unblockable, unstoppable, force of the Doomsday Defense". He was regularly double- and triple-teamed for the majority of his career due to his impact in the games. Although the head slap was legal when he played, he never liked to use it to gain an advantage over opponents.[8] Lilly played in 196 consecutive regular-season games. The only NFL game he missed in his career was the1973 NFC Championship Game loss (10–27) on December 30 against theMinnesota Vikings due to a leg injury. Lilly injured his hamstring in the Cowboys' victory (22–10) against theDenver Broncos on December 2. In the first play of the 1973 NFC Divisional playoff game three weeks later, on December 23 versus theLos Angeles Rams (Cowboys 27-Rams 16), he reinjured the same hamstring.
Affectionately known as "Mr. Cowboy," his name was the first to be inscribed in theDallas Cowboys Ring of Honor, aboveTexas Stadium and the currentAT&T Stadium. The Cowboys had a Bob Lilly Day on November 23, 1975, to honor him and make Lilly the first inductee into the Ring of Honor. He has attended every ceremony for each Ring of Honor inductee since.
Lilly was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980, his first year of eligibility, and was the first player who spent his entire career with the Cowboys to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He entered the Hall of Fame along with former teammateHerb Adderley (for two seasons), as well asDavid "Deacon" Jones andJim Otto. TheSporting News named him a member of the All-Century NFL Team and "the greatest defensive tackle in NFL history". Lilly, Adderley, and Jones were all drafted in 1961. Tom Landry said of Lilly: "As I've said before, another Lilly won't come along in my time. We're observing a man who will become a legend". This comment is from the 1972Street and Smith's Pro Football Yearbook. He also said that "Nobody is better than Lilly". He is a member of theNational Football League 1960s All-Decade Team andNational Football League 1970s All-Decade Team.
In 1999, Lilly was ranked number 10 onThe Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the highest-ranking defensive lineman and the highest-ranking Cowboy. The only defensive players ranked ahead of Lilly wereDick Butkus andLawrence Taylor.Sports Illustrated named him one of the 10 most revolutionary defensive players.
Although the Cowboys do not have a practice to retire jersey numbers, Lilly is the only player to wear #74 in team history (with the exception of preseason games).[9]
When he began traveling with the Cowboys, Lilly regularly had his camera at his side. His interest in photography began when he was named to the College Football All-America Team in 1961, which was sponsored byKodak. As a part of the honor, he was given a 35 mm camera and a year's supply of film by the company.[10] Before and after games, he spent an increasing amount of time studying and photographing old sports stadiums. Lilly co-authored the 1983 bookBob Lilly Reflections with sportswriter Sam Blair, featuring scores of his black-and-white photographs of teammates in candid poses.[11] He was also a photographer for theTexas Air National Guard where he was an airman 2nd class. Lilly spent two weeks in 1967 as part of the Texas National Guard at theRhein-Main Air Base inWest Germany.
After his retirement from professional football, Lilly moved toWaco, Texas, where he successfully operated a beer distribution business until 1982, when he saw the impact of a traffic accident caused by drunken driving and decided to sell the company and launch hislandscape photography career.[12] He lived inLas Cruces, New Mexico, from 1984 to 1989, where he opened a photo art gallery, complete with both color and black-and-white darkrooms. In 1989, he moved back to Texas, settling inGraham.[3] As of 2016, the grandfather of 12 and great-grandfather of three lived with his wife, Ann, whom he married in 1974, inGeorgetown, Texas.
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