TCU lineman Bob Lilly went on to become a seven-time First-Team All-Pro and an 11-time Pro Bowler.
The TCU Horned Frogs are less than 100 days from kicking off the 2025 football season with a nonconference road matchup against the North Carolina Tar Heels and new head coach Bill Belichick. As we count down the days until kickoff, we’ll highlight a former (or current) Horned Frog whose jersey number represents the number of days left until the opener.
TCU Football
72 – Bob Lilly (Defensive Lineman – 1958-60)
One of the all-time great Horned Frogs, Lilly was a two-time All-Southwest Conference (SWC) player in 1959 and 1960, when TCU won back-to-back SWC titles and appeared in the 1959 Cotton Bowl. A consensus All-American in 1960, Lilly was drafted into both the NFL and the AFL in 1961. The Dallas Cowboys picked him in the first round of the 1961 NFL Draft.
Lilly played 14 professional seasons with the Cowboys, making the Pro Bowl 11 times and earning seven First-Team All-Pro honors along with two Second-Team All-Pro awards. In 1971, Lilly helped the Cowboys defeat the Miami Dolphins 24-3 to win Super Bowl VI. Lilly began his professional career as a defensive end before head coach Tom Landry moved him inside to defensive tackle, where his career took off with consecutive All-Pro First Team honors from 1964-69.
Over 196 NFL games, Lilly recovered 18 fumbles and scored four defensive touchdowns. He was inducted into the TCU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1976, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981. Bob “Mr. Cowboy” Lilly was the first name to be inscribed in the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor and the team held “Bob Lilly Day” on Nov. 23, 1975.