Ken Riley

Kenneth Jerome Riley (August 6, 1947 – June 7, 2020) was an American professional football cornerback who spent his entire career with the Cincinnati Bengals, first in the American Football League (AFL) in 1969 and then the National Football League (NFL) from 1970 through 1983. Riley recorded 65 interceptions in his career, which was the fourth most in NFL history at the time of his retirement. Despite his accomplishments, he was never an exceptionally well-known or popular player. Riley was never once selected to play in the AFL All-Star Game or the Pro Bowl, but he was selected to three All-Pro teams.

In 2023, several decades after his career ended, he was posthumously elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Riley grew up in Bartow, Florida. Forrest McKennie was his high school coach at Union Academy.

Before his professional career, Riley played quarterback for Florida A&M University. Under coach Jake Gaither, Riley led the Rattlers to a 23–7 record and three Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles. In addition to being a skilled athlete, Riley also excelled academically. He earned his team's scholastic award and a Rhodes Scholar candidacy. In 1982, Riley was enshrined in Florida A&M's Athletic Hall of Fame.

Riley pledged the Beta Nu chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at Florida A&M University during undergraduate. After graduation, Riley also earned a Master's degree from the University of South Florida and occasionally worked as a substitute high school teacher during his NFL off-seasons.

After graduating from college, Riley was selected by the Bengals in the 6th round of the 1969 Common Draft. When Riley reported to training camp, Cincinnati head coach Paul Brown decided to convert Riley to the cornerback position, as the team had selected quarterback Greg Cook with the 5th pick of the draft and he was expected to be their quarterback of the future. Riley started his career with Cincinnati in its second and last year in the American Football League. Riley was used for kick returns as well as a defensive back. He made his first interception in his fifth game, doing so against the Denver Broncos off Pete Liske (throwing his only pass). He would have four interceptions in the closing five games for the Bengals. In nine starts, Riley had four interceptions while returning 14 kicks for 334 yards with two receptions for 15 yards.

For 1970, Riley did not have an interception in his first 11 games. However, he broke the drought against San Diego and had four interceptions in the last three games of the year, including his first two-interception game in the season finale against the Boston Patriots in a 45–7 win. The Bengals made the playoffs that year, but Riley did not record a statistic in the loss.

In 1971, Riley had five interceptions, which included two interceptions each against Houston and San Diego. For 1972, he had a pick in the opening game against the Patriots before going eight games without another one until facing Chicago. For his part, he had three interceptions.