In A Cowboy’s Life, Bob Lilly tells his complete life story, including the remarkable transformation of the Dallas franchise from “Nobody’s Team” to “America’s Team.”

COWBOYS LEGEND MEETS FANS IN AUSTIN, TEXAS
Bob Lilly, the first player ever drafted by the Dallas Cowboys and one of the most distinguished members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor, will meet fans, talk about the team’s current state of affairs, and sign copies of his autobiography A Cowboy’s Life at BookPeople in Austin, Texas. The Triumph Books’ staff shares their sympathies with Bob for the death of his brother, which forced the cancellation of Tuesday night’s book signing in Dallas. We apologize for any inconvenience this change in schedule may have caused. Please keep an eye on A Cowboy’s Life for details regarding the rescheduled signing. See/hear previous Lilly interviews are in our Press Room right now.

A Cowboy's Life Release
A Cowboy's Life

By Bob Lilly, with Kristine Setting Clark/Foreword by Roger Staubach

 

CONTACT: Josh Williams, Triumph Books, 312.252.1261, j.williams@triumphbooks.com


Bob Lilly is Mr. Cowboy.  The humble man from Throckmorton, Texas, often called "the greatest defensive tackle in NFL history," shares his life's journey for the first time in A Cowboy's Life.

 

Along with Dr. Kristine Setting Clark, Bob Lilly recounts his humble beginnings in Texas, being the first player ever drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 1961, his induction into the Ring of Honor and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and his passion for photography.  He was the first cornerstone of a Cowboy's dynasty and centerpiece of the feared Doomsday Defense of the 1960s that helped this expansion team reach championship heights.

 

A Cowboy's Life takes you behind-the-scenes of the life and career of a legend, including:

 

¨      Lilly's rise from poverty as a child in Throckmorton

¨      Following in the footsteps of his father's hero Sammy Baugh with a legendary career at Texas Christian University

¨      An exclusive look at the early days of the Dallas Cowboys franchise and their transformation from "Nobody's Team" to "America's Team"

¨      Lilly's life off the football field and his passion for photography

 

It's all here: Lilly's innumerable successes, his injuries, the stories of what he did after he retired from the Cowboys, and what he is doing today.  Lilly shares with humble candidness the tribulations, the triumphs, and the glory of his life on and off the field.  Well supplemented with many never-before-published photographs taken by Lilly himself, A Cowboy's Life is the real story of Mr. Cowboy, straight from the man who lived it all.

 

About the Author:

Bob Lilly was the first draft choice of the then-new Dallas Cowboys in 1961. During his 14-year career with the Cowboys, he was named All-Pro seven times and played in 11 Pro Bowls.  In 1980 Lilly became the first Cowboy inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  After his retirement from football, Lilly pursued his love of photography and in 1984 published Reflections, a book of his photographs.  In 1997 Bob moved to Sun City, Texas, where he and his wife, Ann, spend time with their four married children and twelve grandchildren, all of whom live in Texas.

 

Kristine Setting Clark is a University of San Francisco graduate and a feature writer for the San Francisco 49ers Gameday magazine.  She has authored three other books: Undefeated, Untied, and Uninvited; St. Clair: I'll Take It Raw, and Legends of the Hall: 1950s.  Dr. Clark resides in Northern California with her husband and has two grown children and a grandson.
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Hardbound ● $24.95 ● 6 X 9 ● 250 pages ● 1-color; two 8-page 1-color inserts ● ISBN: 978-1-60078-101-8 ● PUB DATE: August 2008

 

A Cowboy's Life Review

Cowboys star reveals his story

by Glen Dromgoole, 1/16/09, GoSanAngelo.com

Bob Lilly, the Throckmorton and TCU football star who went on to be one of the greatest and most respected Dallas Cowboys ever, tells his story in "A Cowboy's Life" (Triumph Books, $24.95 hardcover).

Lilly writes about his high school and college years and the surprising influence that the late Sammy Baugh had on his life. He recounts the early history of the Cowboys from his perspective. He joined the team in its second season, suffered through the losing years in the early '60s and then the frustrating seasons when the Cowboys couldn't win "the big one," and finally enjoyed the triumph of winning the Super Bowl.

Lilly is candid but generally positive in his assessments of the men he played with and for. He was very fond of both coach Tom Landry and quarterback Don Meredith, who didn't get along with each other most of the time.

Of Meredith, Lilly says: "He was by far the toughest quarterback I ever played with. I never saw anyone take a beating like he did, get himself up, and return directly to the huddle. In those early days when we had such bad teams, he made us laugh, always fooling around. A few times he would call a play using various names of fruit. He'd get under center and yell, "Apples! Oranges! Peaches!" They'd snap the ball, and we'd all crack up. Well, everyone but Coach Landry."

Lilly said Landry "was like a father to me after I retired, but while I was playing for him, he was that stone-faced man on the sidelines who never allowed himself to get close to his players." Lilly said he later asked his coach about that, and Landry said he kept his distance so it wouldn't be quite as hard for him when he had to cut a player from the team.

Lilly, who lives near Austin, talks about his life after football, including his passion for photography and why he sold his beer distributorship. He was assisted in writing the book by California author Christine Setting Clark.

In a foreword, Roger Staubach calls Lilly "the greatest defensive tackle to ever play the game," but he also notes, "I don't think he has a mean bone in his body. When he tackled an opponent, he did it in a clean manner. Bob always believed that it wasn't how hard you tackled but how well you tackled."

Book Review by Chuck Dent, Live!, 10/22/08

The current football season has brought up not only excitement on the gridiron but a trio of books that will let you relive some of the excitement of the past. The first is A Cowboy’s Life, A Memoir by Dallas great Bob Lilly.

Lily traces key events in his life in the first few chapters beginning with his youth and the importance his family played in forming him, his growing interest in football and his college years at Texas Christian University.

His book is more than just his personal reminisces. It is a memoir of the of the legendary Dallas team itself. Possibly no other person has the necessary perspective. The team’s first season was in 1960 which ended without a single victory. They lost 11 games that year and tied one. Lilly is probably in as good as position as anyone to trace their history.

He joined the Cowboy’s in 1961 as their first ever draft choice, struggled with them during the early losing seasons and finally saw the team grow into the power house it became under Tom Landry, Tex Schramm and Clint Murchison.

As much as A Cowboy’s Life is Lilly’s memoir it is also an homage to Landry, the Cowboy’s legendary head coach. He describes the tremendous influence Landry had on his life, other players and the game of football.

With his career extending 14 years Lilly recounts key games including the infamous “Ice Bowl” which was played in subfreezing temperatures against the Packers in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the emotional impact of living down being tagged “next years team” as they struggled to make it into and then finally win the Super Bowl and he writes about the many legendary players he shared the field with.

Many of his contemporaries have left the field forever and their names are beginning to fade as the years pass and new generations arrive. He includes players like Eddie LeBaron, Jerry Tubbs, Don Meredith, Lee Roy Jordon, Golden Richards and on and on and on.

He concludes by discussing the actual physical pain the players contend with, and in some cases still experience in later life, his business experience after football and how his interest in photography developed and eventually became a source of his livelihood. Lilly took many of the photographs included in the book.

Two other books which were published concurrently are 100 Things Cowboy Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die and 100 Things Longhorn Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die. Both books have 100 chapters on each of the respective teams. They include people, events, places and they are both in paperback. All three are published by Triumph Books.