Sports
Bob Lilly
Olney native Bob Lilly became the Dallas Cowboys' first draft choice, an 11-time Pro Bowler and the franchise's foundational defensive star before entering the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.
- Roster rank
- #122
- Category
- Sports
- Subject type
- Person
- Profile source
- Published Texas Icons profile
Texas story
Life and career
Bob Lilly was born in Olney, Texas, played at TCU and became a consensus All-America selection before Dallas used its first draft choice in franchise history on him in 1961.
Lilly spent all 14 NFL seasons with the Cowboys, played in 196 consecutive regular-season games and became an eight-time All-NFL selection and 11-time Pro Bowler. He was the first player who spent his entire career with Dallas to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Defining work
What to know
- Cowboys first draft pick
- 11 Pro Bowls
- Super Bowl VI
- 1980 Pro Football Hall of Fame
Timeline
Key milestones
- 1939Born in Olney, Texas.
- 1961Becomes the first draft choice in Dallas Cowboys history.
- 1972Wins Super Bowl VI.
- 1980Enters the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Texas connections
Places in the story
Legacy
Why the story lasts
Lilly's career gave the expansion Cowboys an immediate defensive identity.
His Texas roots run from Olney to TCU to an entire professional career in Dallas.
Lilly links several layers of Texas football history in one career: a Texas high-school and TCU foundation, the distinction of becoming the Dallas Cowboys' first-ever draft choice, and a Hall of Fame professional run identified with the franchise's rise. His place in the roster rests on that unusually continuous Texas football arc rather than on a single award or season.
Sources
Research trail
Cross-linked profiles