The Ongoing Story Of An Iconic Bob Lilly Photo

The image featured in this blog post comes from the earliest days of the Dallas Cowboys. We encountered it in the course of the work we’re doing on our Mint Farm Films documentary about Bob Lilly and it got us thinking about the many layers of meaning it represents.

It starts, as photographs must, with the photographer: James "Brad" Bradley. Mr. Bradley will turn 100 this month, but still gets out and takes photos for events like the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. He also still does interviews, and we talked to him about the years he and his father-in-law, Jim Laughead, spent shooting photos of the Cowboys in the ‘60s and ‘70s. We got Brad to talk about this particular image, and you can hear his comments in the video that accompanies this post.?

The image shows Bob in a posed setup, a technique Laughead and Bradley helped pioneer in the field of sports photography. But it also shows real joy on the subject’s face. Lilly looks truly happy to be there. And that’s likely a genuine emotion. Bradley told us in the interview how Bob was always a pleasure to work on photo shoots. No doubt that had a lot to do with Bob being a fine photographer himself. Photography played a major role in Bob’s life during and after his extraordinary playing career, and is a big part of his story (and part of the reason we were so excited to talk to Brad as part of telling it).

This particular image is an original negative. It comes from an age when one didn’t get instant feedback from a digital screen after one snapped a photo. The shooter had to process and create a physical print from the negative to truly see what he or she had shot. This one depicts the subject in black-and-white, an effect achieved by using a specific kind of film, as opposed to a filter on one’s phone.?

This specific item came into our consciousness because of how Brad wanted to use it. He has been involved in the Exchange Club of East Dallas since 1956. They put on an annual fundraiser to help local public school kids with school supplies and other needs. Brad wanted to donate the original negative to its silent auction, and felt it would add a level of value to have both the subject (Bob) and the photographer (Brad) autograph it.?

So, using a special pen, they both signed it (we captured them doing so on video). You can bid on the piece July 16 at the Lakewood Country Club during the Exchange Club’s Ticket To Ride, An Evening With The Morning Musers event . George Dunham, Craig Miller, and Gordon Keith from Sportsradio 96.7 & 1310 The Ticket will supply the evening’s entertainment. The auction also features a similar piece Brad did with Lee Roy Jordan, Bob’s former Cowboys teammate. The evening’s raffle will fund an endowment for the club’s James T. “Brad” Bradley Scholarship Fund.

Rush Olson ?creates ad campaigns, television programs, and related creative projects for sports entities and brands through Rush Olson Creative & Sports, Mint Farm Films, and FourNine Productions. He co-writes an occasional?blog series ?on the intersection of diversity and sports with his friend?Catalina Villegas . Read their work in Spanish on Catalina’s?LinkedIn profile ?or in English on?Rush’s .