A look at new Pro Football Hall of Famer, Cincinnati Bengals great Ken Riley's career
Ken Riley spent his entire 15-year NFL playing career with the Cincinnati Bengals. During that time, he was one of the most feared defensive backs in the NFL and still ranks tied for fifth all-time in career interceptions with 65.
In August, Riley was named as a senior committee nominee for the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
Thursday night, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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Riley, who died in 2020 at age 72, enjoyed a successful college and NFL career and spent time as a coach and administrator after his retirement in 1983. Here’s a rundown of some of the career milestones for “The Rattler.”
Jan. 28, 1969: Riley was taken in the sixth round (135th overall) of the 1969 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. Riley was a four-year starting quarterback at Florida A&M, but five rounds earlier, the Bengals drafted University of Cincinnati quarterback Greg Cook with the fifth overall pick. That meant a position change for Riley, who converted to defensive back during his rookie season with Bengals founder Paul Brown as head coach.
Sept. 14, 1969: Riley made his NFL debut in the 1969 season-opener, returning three kickoffs for 53 yards in the Bengals’ 27-21 victory over the Miami Dolphins at Nippert Stadium.
Oct. 19. 1969: Riley recorded his first career interception in the Bengals’ 30-23 loss to the Denver Broncos at Nippert Stadium. Riley intercepted Denver’s Pete Liske and returned it 66 yards. Riley had four interceptions in the final five games of his rookie campaign.
Dec. 20, 1970: Riley had his first multi-interception game, picking off Boston Patriots’ quarterback Joe Kapp twice in a 45-7 Cincinnati win that clinched the first division title in Bengals history. Riley went without an interception for the first 11 games of the 1970 season before recording four over the final three regular-season games.
Oct. 26, 1975: Riley records his first career pick-six when he returns a second-quarter interception 30 yards for a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons. The Bengals would go on to win, 21-14. Riley was named second-team All-Pro in 1975.
Dec. 28, 1975: Riley records his first career playoff interception when he picks off Ken Stabler in an eventual 31-28 Bengals first-round loss to the Raiders at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
Dec. 12, 1976: Riley sets a career-high with three interceptions at Shea Stadium, including picking off NFL Hall-of-Famer Joe Namath in his final game with the New York Jets, in a 42-3 Bengals win. The three interceptions gives Riley a franchise-record nine for the year, a mark that would stand for 29 years until Deltha O’Neal had 10 picks in 2005. Riley would be named second-team All-Pro for the second consecutive year.
Jan. 3, 1982: Riley intercepts Buffalo Bills quarterback Joe Ferguson in a first-round playoff game at Riverfront Stadium. The Bengals went on to win, 28-21, the franchise’s first-ever postseason victory. Riley had five interceptions that season and helped lead the Bengals to the Super Bowl for the first time in team history. Riley had three career playoff interceptions in seven games.
1982: Riley was inducted into the Florida A&M Hall of Fame.
Dec. 17, 1983: In his final NFL game, Riley intercepts Minnesota Vikings quarterback Wade Wilson twice in a 20-14 Bengals loss at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Riley was honored by the Bengals a week prior in his final home game at Riverfront Stadium, a 17-9 win over the Detroit Lions. At 36 years old, Riley finished second in the NFL with eight interceptions in 1983. He was named first-team All-Pro for the first and only time in his career. Riley held the Bengals record for games played (207) for nearly 40 years.
1984: After retiring from the NFL, Riley shifts into coaching and begins a two-year stint as an assistant coach with the Green Bay Packers. He joins Forrest Gregg’s staff, who coached Riley for four seasons with the Bengals.
1986: Riley becomes the head coach at his Alma mater. Over eight seasons (1986-1993), Riley went 48-39-2, leading the Rattlers to a pair of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MIEC) titles. He was twice named the league’s coach of the year.
1994: Riley was named the Florida A&M athletic director, a position he stayed in until 2003. A Florida A&M press release in 2021 said, “His (Riley) management style would lead to an era of the biggest crowds and highest profitability in FAMU athletics history. When he left FAMU, it had a rare funding surplus of over $1.2 million, which was unheard of for FCS programs.”
Feb. 28, 2015: Riley was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame in a ceremony in Atlanta.
July 22, 2021: Riley, just over one year after his death, is announced, along with Ken Anderson, as being voted into the Bengals' inaugural Ring of Honor class, joining Hall of Fame tackle Anthony Munoz and team founder Paul Brown.
Sept. 30, 2021: Riley is inducted into the Bengals Ring of Honor at halftime of the team’s Thursday Night Football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ken Riley, 2023 NFL Hall of Famer: His career with the Bengals
