Winter Haven Students Rally to Support Ken Riley

NFL greats Doug Williams (L) and Ken Riley(R). Riley's NFL career: Bengals cornerback, 1969-83; fourth on NFL all-time interception list with 65.

Students want him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.




WINTER HAVEN, FL - What started out as a class assignment has turned into a movement. Winter Haven High School classmates Nick Harper and Jordan Powell hope the movement turns into a tidal wave of support that sweeps Winter Haven High dean Ken Riley into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. "We researched it and found out he was pretty good," Harper, an 18-year-old senior, said of Riley, who played for 15 years with the Cincinnati Bengals. "He's had the most interceptions without being in the hall. He went to a Super Bowl. Why isn't he in?"

So, the duo went to work. They have collected more than 1,000 signatures and have contacted some of the Hall of Fame voters, including local voter Ira Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune. They're trying to get everyone to remember the achievements of the Bartow native Riley, who last played in 1983. It may be working. Kaufman said last month that he has received some of the letters and talked with some committee members while at the owners' meeting in California in March.

"He's legitimate," Kaufman said of the Union Academy graduate Riley. "I brought up his name to some of the voters and got a very positive response. It's a wonder why someone with the numbers he has hasn't really seriously been considered."

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Former FAMU Rattlers, Ken Riley displays a game ball and three AFC Interception Leader awards he won during his 15 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. Riley, 61, a dean at Winter Haven High School, resides in Bartow.

LIFE OF RILEY

• High School: Union Academy, Bartow, FL; College: Star QB, Florida A&M University; 6th Round Draft Choice 1969, Cincinnati Bengals-- Played 15 seasons as cornerback.


• Riley also excelled academically and earned his team's scholastic award and a Rhodes Scholar Candidacy.


• NFL career: Bengals cornerback, 1969-83. Fourth on NFL all-time interception list with 65.


• Post NFL-career: 1984-85: Green Bay Packers assistant coach; 1986-93: Head coach, Florida A&M University, compiling a 48-39-2 record with two Mid-Eastern Athletic conference titles and 2 MEAC coach of the year awards; 1994-2003: Athletic director, Florida A&M.


• Personal: Age 61, hometown is Bartow, Fla. Married, three grown children, one grandchild. Resides in Bartow, Fla.


• Riley is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans.


• In 2007 Riley was named to the Florida High School Association All-Century Team which selected the Top 33 players in the 100 year history of high school football in the state of Florida's history.
  
• Riley is in other halls of fame, including the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, Polk County Sports Hall of Fame and the Florida A&M Hall of Fame.

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Understated NFL Star Ken Riley Remains Underrated

Former Florida A&M University Rattlers Ken Riley and Bob Hayes, deserve to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Their inductions are long overdue as less accomplished players are being named to the Hall.

If Ken Riley had come up with a little trademark dance to perform after each of his 65 NFL interceptions, he might be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame today. But it isn't Riley's nature to call attention to himself. "I was very low-key," he said. "I always felt actions spoke louder than words."

Now he's not so sure. Twenty-five years after retiring as an active player, the 61-year-old Riley is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A strong case can be made that he should be, starting with statistics and longevity, and then considering more subtle issues like character and what a Hall of Fame should be about.

"He's the kind of classy guy you want to see in the Hall of Fame, what it stands for," said Arthur Hightower, director of player development for the San Diego Chargers. "The Sixties was a turbulent time, and he was a college quarterback who changed positions and never questioned it. Ken Riley has never been a 'me' person; he's always been a guy who just gets the job done."

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Ex-NFL linebacker, Disney Sports exec Reggie Williams fighting to save his leg

Battling infection takes ex-NFL star to New York

NEW YORK - Reggie Williams got in his car two months ago and headed north. He said goodbye to the swans and almost nobody else. He'd come to know them on his walks around Lake Eola. They'd take his mind off the pain as he circled the lake. Now the gnawing in his right knee had become too much.

Williams packed his Lexus with a few clothes and an iPod loaded with 18,226 songs. He did not know when he'd get back to Orlando, but the ex- NFL linebacker was certain of one thing. "This was all or nothing," Williams said.

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Retired NFL players angry about pensions

Many expressing frustration about lack of respect from league and union.

Ken Riley (Florida A&M University) of Bartow, Florida is one of the lucky ones. He played 15 years for the Cincinnati Bengals without injuring a knee. At age 60, Riley feels pretty good. He has yet to tap into his NFL pension. But he knows many players of his era haven't been so fortunate, and he's not sure they're getting enough help from players of this era.

"I went through four NFL strikes," said Riley, who retired as a player in 1983. "Guys make a lot more money now, and that's great. But a lot of guys paved the way for them, and the least they can expect is for the players of today to appreciate it." Riley, now an administrator at Winter Haven High School, says there should be no disconnect between active and former players.

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