Bob Lilly Robert Lewis Lilly ( born July 26 , 1939 ) , nicknamed " Mr . Cowboy " , is a former American football defensive tackle and photographer . After a college career at Texas Christian University ( TCU ) , he played for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League ( NFL ) from 1961 to 1974 . He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980 . College career . Lilly played college football at TCU , where he was a two - time All - Southwest Conference pick and a consensus All - America n . He was a 1961 member of the College Football All - America Team and was a 2006 inductee to the East - West Shrine Game Hall of Fame . Lilly was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981 . He is also a notable alumnus of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity . Professional career . The Dallas Cowboys traded their first round draft choice in the 1961 NFL Draft , as part of the deal to get Eddie LeBaron from the Washington Redskins , so the Cowboys had to trade their first round in the 1962 NFL Draft , in exchange for the Cleveland Browns first round draft choice in 1961 , in order to select Lilly , the first draft pick in Dallas Cowboys franchise history . Lilly began his career as a defensive end in 1961 , but midway though the 1963 ( his third ) season Cowboys coach Tom Landry moved him to defensive tackle . Lilly made the adjustment becoming the main man in Dallas ' s vaunted " Doomsday Defense " . As a tackle , Lilly was a first - team All - NFL choice every year from 1964 through 1969 , then again in 1971 . On January 17 , 1971 , the Cowboys finally made the Super Bowl , against the Baltimore Colts , only to lose the game , 16 - 13 , on a field goal in the final nine seconds . However , in 1972 he and the rest of the Cowboys won the Super Bowl against the Miami Dolphins , 24 - 3 . His 29 - yard sack of Dolphin quarterback Bob Griese ( an NFL Record ) is one of the most memorable plays in Super Bowl defensive history . This was the signature play of his 14 - year hall - of - fame career . Lilly was named an All - Pro seven times , and was selected to play in 11 Pro Bowl games . He was also drafted in the second round ( 14th overall ) in the 1961 AFL Draft by the Dallas Texans ( now Kansas City Chiefs ) prior to the merger with the NFL . His greatest assets were his pass - rushing skills and his ability to slice plays open with his agility and instincts . He 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 17 yards in 1964 while the other three came on fumble recoveries . NFL Films did an eight - minute feature on Lilly and called him the " unblockable , unstoppable , force of The Doomsday Defense " . Lilly was regularly double and triple teamed for the majority of his career because of his effectiveness as a defensive tackle . Lilly played in 196 consecutive regular - season games . The only NFL game he would miss in his career , was the 1973 NFC Championship Game loss ( 10 - 27 ) , December 30 , against the Minnesota Vikings , due to a leg injury . Lilly injured his hamstring in the Cowboys victory ( 22 - 10 ) against the Denver Broncos , December 2 , 1973 . In the first play of the 1973 NFC Divisional playoff game , three weeks later on December 23 , versus the Los Angeles Rams ( Cowboys 27 - Rams 16 ) he re - injured this same hamstring . Affectionately known as " Mr . Cowboy , " his name was the first inscribed in the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor , above Texas Stadium and the current Cowboys 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 induction of 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 teammate Herb Adderley ( for two seasons ) , as well as David " Deacon " Jones and Jim Otto . The " Sporting 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 1972 Street and Smith ' s Pro Football Yearbook . He also said that " Nobody is better than Lilly " . He is a member of the National Football League 1960s All - Decade Team and National Football League 1970s All - Decade Team . In 1999 , he was ranked number 10 on " The 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 were Dick Butkus and Lawrence Taylor . " Sports Illustrated " named him one of the ten most revolutionary defensive players . Although the Cowboys don ' t have a practice to retire jersey numbers , Lilly is the only player to wear # 74 in team history ( with the exception of pre - season games ) . Photography . 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 by Kodak . As a part of the honor he was given a 35 - mm camera and a year ' s supply of film by the company . Before and after games , he spent an increasing amount of time studying and photographing old sports stadiums . Lilly co - authored the 1983 book " Bob Lilly Reflections " with sportswriter Sam Blair , featuring scores of his black - and - white photographs of teammates in candid poses . He was also a photographer for the Texas Air National Guard where he was an Airman 2nd Class . Lilly spent two weeks in 1967 as part of the Texas National Guard at the Rhein - Main Air Base in West Germany .