Advertisement

sportsCowboys

Why Bob Lilly, the Cowboys' first-ever draft pick, had no clue Dallas selected him in the 1961 NFL draft

UPDATE 10 a.m. Tuesday: The Cowboys announced on Tuesday that Ring of Honor member Bob Lilly will announce the team's second-round pick Friday at the NFL draft in Arlington.

Current Cowboys center Travis Frederick will have the honors in Round 3.

Advertisement

ORIGINAL STORY FOLLOWS

Cowboys

Be the smartest Cowboys fan. Get the latest news.

Or with:

When the Dallas Cowboys made their first NFL draft selection in franchise history, their newest player was in his TCU dorm, completely unaware.

It was Dec. 27, 1960. Bob Lilly was a 21-year-old consensus All-America and a Texan who dreamed of playing professional football in his home state. But the draft wasn't televised, and he wasn't expecting pick-by-pick updates.

Advertisement

"Because back then," Lilly said, "the draft wasn't a big deal."

Today, the buildup to the NFL draft is a yearlong process. Months of daily analysis, mock drafts and workouts leads to a nationally televised extravaganza, this year scheduled for Thursday through Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

The spectacle begins with the first round, when the top 20 or so prospects in attendance walk across the stage to be greeted by commissioner Roger Goodell after their name is called, already donning their new team's cap. Last year, a record-breaking 250,000 fans attended the draft in Philadelphia. The NFL and the Cowboys promise to go even bigger. In addition to hosting the event in an NFL stadium for the first time, the NFL Draft Experience, a State Fair-like football festival outside of the stadium, will be free for fans on all three days.

Advertisement

As for the 1961 version that included Lilly? Well, it was much different.

"It seems like it was millions of years and generations ago," said Gil Brandt, the 85-year-old former Cowboys vice president of player personnel, who was there.

The scene where the Cowboys used their first pick on Lilly -- a defensive lineman who would become an 11-time Pro Bowler, a Super Bowl champion and the team's first Pro Football Hall of Famer -- looked more like a modern-day fantasy football draft.

"We were in a small ballroom," said Brandt, who is still involved with the draft and scouting college prospects. "There were 14 little tables set up with white tablecloths with your team name. I think we had a total of six media members there. That was the entire coverage."

It took place at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. Sitting at the Cowboys table with Brandt was general manager Tex Schramm and head coach Tom Landry. Their scouting information was packed into black ring binders, including a list of their top 150 players.

The No. 1 target? Bob Lilly.

Brandt watched the Throckmorton native play at TCU a couple of times, and saw his star potential. Dallas officially got its franchise on Jan. 28, 1960, too late to participate in the 1960 draft. That meant its inaugural roster was filled with players left unprotected by other teams in an expansion draft. In their first season, the Cowboys went 0-11-1.

Advertisement

The 1961 draft was their chance to reverse course and acquire young talent. They traded their No. 2 overall pick to the Washington Redskins for quarterback Eddie LeBaron, but traded back into the first round with the Cleveland Browns to acquire the 13th overall pick.

On draft day, a chalkboard stood at the head of the ballroom. Ashtrays rested on each table. The air smelled of coffee and cigarette smoke. The draft would last 20 rounds, with 14 teams sitting arms length away in rows, just like a high school classroom.

"Nobody had any secrets back then," Brandt said. But they did have quarters, and multiple rolls.

"Everyone would call college coaches to get information on players, but before you could use the pay phone, you would have to deposit $3.75 or something," Brandt said. "And you'd hear the quarters go, 'Bing, bing, bing.'"

Advertisement

Lilly knew Brandt and the Cowboys were interested in him. But they weren't the only local team. Weeks before the NFL draft, Lamar Hunt's Dallas Texans of the American Football League drafted Lilly in the second round.

He would've been happy to play for either Dallas team, but his head coach at TCU advised him to choose the NFL if drafted, since that league had a longer track record of success.

When the '61 draft began, three future Hall of Famers were quickly selected off the board. The Chicago Bears snagged Mike Ditka at No. 5. The San Francisco 49ers took defensive back Jimmy Johnson (not the former Cowboys coach) at No. 6. With pick No. 12, the Green Bay Packers chose Herb Adderley.

Then, at No. 13, the Cowboys got their guy. Someone wrote Lilly's name on the chalkboard. And the draft simply continued.

Advertisement

Lilly doesn't even remember how he learned of the big news. He might've seen it in the newspaper the following day. Or maybe his college coach told him. Eventually, he got a phone call from Brandt, who said, "We want to put a star on your helmet."

Next came contract negotiations. In the 2017 NFL draft, 13th overall pick Haason Reddick received a 4-year contract worth a guaranteed $13.47 million, including a $7.94 million signing bonus.

Brandt recalls signing Lilly to a 1-year contract for $12,000 with a $4,000 signing bonus. At the time, it was more money than Lilly had ever seen.

Advertisement

"We weren't millionaires," Lilly, 78, said with a laugh. "Maybe a thousandaire."

He went on to an illustrious 14-year career, all with the Cowboys. He retired after the '74 season, and ever since has watched the draft become a bigger and bigger deal.

Part of him feels like he missed out -- and not just on the money. He thinks he would've enjoyed the excitement of today's event: walking across the stage, shaking the commissioner's hand, beaming in front of a large crowd holding a Cowboys jersey.

This year, he'll get a small taste. On the second day of the draft, Lilly will walk on stage and announce the Cowboys' second-round pick.

Advertisement

Maybe that player will go on to be the Cowboys' next Pro Bowler, or a cog on their first Super Bowl team since 1996. Maybe, if they're really lucky, one day that player will have a gold sports coat in their closet like Lilly's, emblazoned with the Pro Football Hall of Fame logo.

But no matter whom the Cowboys draft, or how much bigger the event becomes, there's one thing that will always and only belong to the '61 first-rounder.

"Toward the end of my career, and when I was inducted into the Hall of Fame, Roger [Staubach] kept saying, 'You're the first guy to ever be drafted by the Dallas Cowboys,'" Lilly said with a smile.

"'You're 'Mr. Cowboy.'"