Best Dallas Cowboys player to wear No. 74 was the first member of the Ring of Honor

Welcome back to The Landry Hat's series highlighting the best Dallas Cowboys players to wear every jersey number from No. 0 to No. 99.

We're now officially at the three-quarter point of our journey, and we've got a very special entry to mark the occasion here at No. 74.

If you've been following along with the series, you know we like to kick things off by listing every Cowboys player who's worn whatever number we're covering, as we want you to see every option from which we had to choose.

In this unique case, however, there is literally only one option, as the first player to wear No. 74 for America's Team was also the last. While Dallas doesn't officially retire numbers, this is one that isn't likely to ever be put back into the rotation, as the player who wore it is arguably the best to ever sport a star on the side of his helmet.

And that player, of course, is none other than "Mr. Cowboy" himself, Bob Lilly.

Bob Lilly was the first player ever drafted by the Dallas Cowboys and the first to be inducted into the Hall of Fame

A back-to-back First-Team All-SWC selection at TCU in 1959 and 1960, as well as a unanimous All-American in the latter campaign, Lilly was taken by Dallas in the first round of the 1961 NFL Draft with the 13th overall selection, thus making him the first draft pick in Cowboys history.

Now, some of you may be wondering how that's possible, as the first season in franchise history was 1960. But the story there is that the Cowboys didn't officially become a franchise until January 1960, while the 1960 NFL Draft actually took place in November 1959. As such, Dallas filled its first roster via an expansion draft in March 1960, while also signing some free agents.

So, that's how Lilly became the first-ever draft pick in Cowboys history. And the decision to draft him obviously turned out to be a pretty good one.

The Texas native began his career playing defensive end, earning his first Pro Bowl selection in his second season in 1962. But midway through the 1963 campaign, head coach Tom Landry moved him to defensive tackle, and his career just skyrocketed from there, as he became the anchor of the vaunted "Doomsday Defense" that helped the Cowboys turn from a lowly expansion team into one of the top contenders in the NFL.

In the 10-season stretch from 1964 to 1973, Lilly earned 10 trips to the Pro Bowl, seven First-Team All-Pro selections, one Second-Team All-Pro selection, and three top-10 finishes in the NFL MVP voting. Not the Defensive Player of the Year voting, the NFL MVP voting.

Wildly enough, while one of the greatest defensive players of all time, he never won DPOY, his best finish being a runner-up in 1971.

That '71 season, of course, ended with the Cowboys winning their first Super Bowl. And during the 24-3 beatdown of the Miami Dolphins, Lilly made one of the most famous defensive plays in the Big Game's history with a 29-yard sack of legendary Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese. Yeah, you read that right: a 29-yard sack in the Super Bowl.

Lilly, who Landry once described as someone "who comes along once in a lifetime," retired following the 1974 season, having never missed a single game throughout his entire career, ultimately appearing in 196 regular-season contests and another 14 in the postseason.

Dallas held a Bob Lilly Day in November 1975, and on that day made him the first inductee into the Cowboys Ring of Honor, and in 1980, he became the first Cowboys player ever to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

So, it's quite clear why he earned the nickname "Mr. Cowboy."

Other Dallas Cowboys jersey honorees

This list will be updated daily until all 100 entries are complete, so please be sure to bookmark this page or check back in with The Landry Hat for updates.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Bob Lilly was the first player ever drafted by the Dallas Cowboys and the first to be inducted into the Hall of Fame

Other Dallas Cowboys jersey honorees

Schedule