Bob Lilly is Mr. Cowboy, and the title is literal. He was the very first player the Dallas Cowboys ever drafted, taken in the first round in 1961 out of TCU, and he became the first Cowboy in the Ring of Honor in 1975 and the first Cowboy in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980. No franchise history starts anywhere but with him.

Over fourteen seasons he made eleven Pro Bowls, was named first-team All-Pro seven times, and played 196 consecutive games without missing one, a streak that ranked third in NFL history when he walked away after 1974. He was the anchor of the Doomsday Defense and the standard by which defensive tackles were measured for a generation.

The signature play came in Super Bowl VI, when he chased Bob Griese 29 yards backward for one of the most famous sacks ever recorded, and Dallas won its first championship 24-3. He was named to the NFL's 75th and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams, and getting a signature from him is about as close to the origin of this franchise as a collector can get.