Initially wanting to defer to family, Barbara Riley to honor late husband at Pro Football HOF
While Ken Riley waited 40 years to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he won’t have to wait when it comes to the ceremony.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame released its order of induction list to the public and former Miami Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas will be first to be inducted.
He will be followed by Riley.
Riley, who played all of his 15 NFL seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals, is one nine players to be enshrined on Saturday, Aug. 5, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
Unfortunately, Riley passed away in June of 2020 from a heart attack at age 72.
Known throughout his career as "The Rattler," the former Florida A&M quarterback, head coach and athletics director joins Bob Hayes (2009) as the only former Rattlers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
As the August enshrinement draws closer, the excitement from the Riley family is growing.
Additionally, there will be a surprise speaker at the ceremony.
Riley’s wife, Barbara Riley, who resides in Bartow, Florida, will present the unveiling of the bust. Son Ken Riley II will deliver the acceptance speech.
Barbara Riley has been practically silent in the public in the wake of her husband’s passing.
When the Hall of Fame requested the presenter, Barbara Riley initially tried to deflect the request.
“Originally I wanted the grandsons to do the presenting," Riley said.
"Then I found out there were too many of them. Then I suggested his daughters and me to do it. We were told it could only be one person, so everyone suggested that I should do it. I said yes. Every since the beginning of the process I picked Ken II to be our spokesman.”
The Cincinnati Bengals unveiled their initial Ring of Honor Ceremony in September 2021. Enshrined were Bengals greats Kenny Anderson, Anthony Munoz, Paul Brown and Riley.
The lavish ceremony was attended by the Riley family with Ken II receiving the customized Ring of Honor jacket on the field at halftime. He wore his father’s cowboy boots on the field for the ceremony. Barbara along with her other children were on the field for the event.
Many believed Riley was taking a step closer to the Pro Football Hall of Fame when the Bengals honored him.
Ken Riley had an unexpected rushed wedding
When Ken Riley graduated from FAMU and was drafted by the Bengals (1969, sixth round) he attended his first NFL camp.
“At the camp, his coach told him if you have a wife you can bring her with you. If you don’t have a wife by then it (marriage) should wait until after the season,” Barbara Riley said.
The two had planned to get married in June. However, the coaches' suggestion caused them to move up the date to May 3, 1969.
At the time of Riley’s death in 2021 the couple had been married 51 years.
It has been an emotional adjustment for Barbara Riley since her husband's passing.
She has often stayed in the background, choosing instead to allow Ken Riley II to do most appearances representing the family. But, there was a side of her that knew she needed to be in the picture.
After years of disappointment, Riley's family last February received the ultimate recognition that some thought would never come.
Riley had been elected to he Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023.
“Seems like I became obligated, knowing he had been waiting and waiting all this many years. He thought his stats would have gotten him in well before he actually went in,” Barbara Riley said. “He simply would not boast about himself, that’s the way he was brought up. In a way it is very sad for him not to be here to receive his accolades.
"It was the one thing he really wanted in the later years of his life.”
2019 was a breaking point for Ken Riley
Riley was not very vocal about not making the Pro Football Hall of Fame. However, when prompted, he told people he had earned his place.
2019 was his breaking point.
The climate seemed to be in his favor for making the Hall and he really wanted to be a part of the 2019 class as the NFL celebrated 100 years. For him, it was a breaking point. After not making the class of 2019, Riley began to give up hope.
“In 2019 he was done with this," Barbara Riley said.
"I didn’t question him and I let him vent. He felt the dream of fulfilling that circle had past him by. He felt that probably he had played so long ago that there weren’t enough that remembered him to make it in. One day he was very down about it and said this would not happen in his lifetime.
"He didn’t speak about it much at all after 2019,”
Unfortunately, Ken Riley would never have spoken truer words.
This year’s enshrinement will complete Riley’s circle. And his family will be in attendance in Ohio next month to represent him.
“It felt like it was getting further and further away," Barbara Riley said of her late husband's enshrinement. "It’s a catch 22 because this should have been his day. I push Ken II out there because that’s the way it should be.”
Riley's son is slated to give his speech on the biggest stage of football in front of millions. Barbara Riley says it will be the first time she will hear the speech.
“He hasn’t let me hear it and I don’t know what’s in it, so I’ll be hearing it along with everybody else," Barbara said.
Riley played in 207 NFL games and had 65 interceptions.
He ranks fifth (tied with Charles Woodson) on the NFL’s career interceptions list and his career spanned over three decades (1969-1983).
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Ken Riley to join Bob Hayes as the only former Rattlers in Pro Football HOF
