A member of both the College & Pro Football Hall of Fames, Bob Lilly is an all-time great
72 | DL Bob Lilly (1958-1960)
Simply put, TCU defensive lineman Bob Lilly is one of the greatest players to ever step onto a football field. A member of the TCU Hall of Fame, Lilly’s time in Fort Worth was highlighted by two Southwest Conference Championships and a Cotton Bowl, twice earning First Team All-SWC and a consensus All-American in 1960. The Horned Frogs defense averaged only eight points allowed per game during Lilly’s three seasons on the field. Lily was inducted into to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981.
Following his decorated TCU career, Lilly became the first ever draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys, selected 13th overall in the 1961 NFL Draft, beginning an historic professional career. “Mr. Cowboy,” Lilly spent 14 seasons with the franchise, missing only one game during his career, with 196 consecutive games played. A member of the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor, Lilly was named to eleven Pro Bowls and earned All-Pro honors in nine seasons winning the franchise’s first Super Bowl in 1972 (Super Bowl VI) as Lilly and the Dallas “Doomsday Defense” stifled the Miami Dolphins offense, including a sack of Miami QB Bob Griese for the largest single-play loss created in Super Bowl history. Named an All-Decade team for the 1960s and 1970s and a member of the NFL All-Time Team for the league’s 75th & 100th Anniversaries, Lilly was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.