Bob Lilly

At 85 years old, Bob Lilly has this physical status:

Born July 26, 1939), Lewis Lilly (Mr. ), nicknamed "Mr."

Cowboy" is a former football defensive tackle and photographer who specializes in American football.

He played for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League for fourteen seasons after completing a college experience (TCU).

In 1980 and 1981, Lilly was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as well as the College Football Hall of Fame.

Early life

Lilly was born in Olney, Texas, and the son of John and Margaret (Redwine) Lilly was born in Throckmorton. Both father and grandfather were involved in farming and ranching in the 1950s, but his family was forced to leave at the end of his junior year at Throckmorton High School, where he received All-District recognition in football. He was named All-District and Honorable Mention All-state in basketball.

Lilly and his family immigrated from northeastern Oregon to Pendleton, where his mother's family and jobs were still available—for his senior year. He was named All-state in football and second-team All-state in basketball for the Buckaroos at Pendleton High School.

Personal life

Lilly carried his camera at his side while traveling with the Cowboys. When he was named to the College Football All-America Team in 1961, which was funded by Kodak, he began to photograph. He was given a 35-mm camera and a year of film by the corporation as part of the occasion. He spent an increasing amount of time researching and photographing old sports stadiums before and after games. Lilly co-authored Bob Lilly Reflections, with sports writer Sam Blair, a collection of his black-and-white photographs of his colleagues in candid poses. He worked with the Texas Air National Guard in the 2nd Class. Lilly spent two weeks at the Rhein-Main Air Base in West Germany as part of the Texas National Guard.

Lilly retired from pro football to Waco, Texas, where he operated a beer distribution firm until 1982, when he saw the effects of a traffic collision caused by drunken driving and decided to sell the company and start his landscape photography career. He lived in Las Cruces, New Mexico, from 1984 to 1989, where he opened a photo art gallery with both color and black-and-white darkrooms. He returned to Texas in 1989, settling in Graham, Texas. Ann, the grandfather of three children and great-grandfather of three, died in Georgetown, Texas, as of 2016.

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College career

Lilly received an athletic scholarship from Texas Christian University, where he was dubbed 'Tiger' by his classmates. He was a freshman with the Horned Frogs and was mainly a back-up plan in the Southwest Conference Championship, where he was mainly a backup (one start).

He made his debut in the Southwest Conference Championship with the University of Texas and the University of Arkansas, while still playing alongside All-SWC defensive tackle Don Floyd. He has also been named All-Southwest Conference champion for a defense that allowed only eight points per game.

Lilly, a consensus All-American senior, was a 2006 inductee into the East-West Shrine Game Hall of Fame. In 1981, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He is a significant brother of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, as well as the Texas Gamma chapter.

Professional career

The Dallas Cowboys traded their first round draft pick (#4-Gary Collins) in the 1962 NFL draft for the Cleveland Browns' first draft pick (13th overall) in franchise history.

Lilly began his career as a defensive tackle in 1961, but Cowboys coach Tom Landry converted him to defensive tackle midway through 1963, his third season. Lilly made the change, becoming the main man in Dallas' lauded "Doomsday Defense." Lilly, as a tackle, was a first-team All-NFL pick from 1964 to 1969, then again in 1971. The Cowboys made the Super Bowl against the Baltimore Colts in 1970, but they later lost the game (16-13) on a field goal in the final nine seconds; after the game, he yelled his helmet in the air, angry at the loss. He and the rest of the Cowboys triumphed Super Bowl VI over the Miami Dolphins convincingly in 1971. Bob Griese's 29-yard sacking of Dolphin quarterback Bob Griese (at the time an NFL record) was one of the most memorable plays in Super Bowl defensive history. This was his 14-year hall-of-fame career in his best show.

Lilly was named an All-Pro seven times and was selected to play in 11 Pro Bowl games. The Dallas Texans also drafted him in the second round (14th overall) in the 1961 AFL Draft (now Kansas City Chiefs). His most notable features were his pass-rushing skills and his ability to cut plays open with his agility and intuition. He took a distinct stand, the so-called four-point approach, with both hands on the field rather than the more conventional one, which gave the more powerful kick when rushing straight ahead. Lilly's agility and quickness helped him score four defensive touchdowns in his career. In 1964, his first interception of 17 yards was intercepted, but the other three remained on fumble recoveries.

Lilly's combination of agility, conditioning, and strength (though he didn't start lifting weights until his sixth season in the NFL), enabled him to make tackles from sideline to sideline, separating him from other defensive tackles. "Unblockable, unstoppable power of The Doomsday Defense" was the subject of NFL Films' eight-minute film about Lilly. Due to his playing ability, he was consistently double- and triple-teamed for the majority of his career. Although the head slap was legal when he played, he never intended to use it to gain an edge over opponents. Lilly has played in 196 consecutive regular-season games. The 1973 NFC Championship Game loss (10-27) against the Minnesota Vikings on December 30 was the only NFL game he missed in his career. In the Cowboys' victory (22-10) over the Denver Broncos on December 2, Lilly tore his hamstring. He re-injured his same hamstring in the first game of the 1973 NFC Divisional playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams on December 23. (Cowboys 27-Rams 16)

Mr. is a slang word that is often referred to as "Mr." "Bowboy" was the first inscribed in the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor, above Texas Stadium and the new AT&T Stadium. On November 23, 1975, the Cowboys celebrated Bob Lilly Day and made Lilly the first inductee into The Ring of Honor. He has attended every induction of every 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 Cowboys player to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside Herb Adderley (for two seasons), as well as David "Deacon" Jones and Jim Otto. He was named as a member of the All-Century Football Team and "the best defensive tackle in NFL history," according to Sporting News. In 1961, Lilly, Adderley, and Jones were all designed. Lilly's Tom Landry said: "As I've said before, another Lilly will not appear in my time." We're looking at a man who will be known as a hero." This pro football yearbook from 1972 Street and Smith. "Nobody is smarter than Lilly," he said. He is a member of the National Football League's 1960s All-Decade Team and the National Football League's 1970s All-Decade Team.

He was ranked number 10 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, as the highest-ranking defensive lineman and the highest-ranking Cowboy in 1999. Dick Butkus and Lawrence Taylor were the only defensive players ranked ahead of Lilly. He was selected one of the ten most influential defensive players by Sports Illustrated.

Although the Cowboys do not have a rule to ban jersey numbers, Lilly is the only player to wear #74 in team history (with the exception of pre-season games).

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