Bengals: Ken Riley's Hall of Fame speech time slot announced
Next month will be incredibly special, and bittersweet, for Ken Riley's family and the Cincinnati Bengals. Riley will be posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2023 with his son, Ken Riley II, making the speech on his behalf. The Hall of Fame announced Monday morning that Riley II will be […]
Next month will be incredibly special, and bittersweet, for Ken Riley's family and the Cincinnati Bengals. Riley will be posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2023 with his son, Ken Riley II, making the speech on his behalf.
The Hall of Fame announced Monday morning that Riley II will be speaking second in order, following Hall of Fame inductee Zach Thomas.
Riley, who played 15 seasons for the Bengals from 1969-1983, passed away at the age of on June 7, 2020 at the age of 72. He lived his entire retired life without being inducted in the Hall of Fame, and the Bengals' Ring of Honor wasn't created until a year after his passing.
As one of the best players to ever play in Cincinnati, Riley became an easy inductee for the Bengals' inaugural Ring of Honor class in 2021. That helped his case to be voted in as a senior inductee last Summer, a long overdue decision for the Hall's voting committee.
The Bengals last had a player inducted into the Hall of Fame 25 years ago, when Anthony Munoz earned the honor in 1998.
Despite having retired 40 years ago, Riley remains fifth on the NFL all-time interceptions list with 65. He had been the only player in the top eight who had not been voted into Canton, OH.
A building block for the earliest Bengals teams under founder and head coach Paul Brown, Riley played more games (207) in Orange and Black than anyone else up until Kevin Huber broke his record just last year. He was also a first-team All-Pro in his final season.
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It’s time to honor another great from the past.
Featured image via © ERNST PETERS|THE LEDGER 2018 / USA TODAY NETWORK
