'The Rattler': 5 things to know about Cincinnati Bengals great Ken Riley

The late Ken Riley, a former Cincinnati Bengals defensive back, was one of three senior nominees who advanced to the final round for consideration into the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame.

At the NFL Honors Thursday night he finally made the Hall of Fame.

At long last:Cincinnati Bengals legend Ken Riley is named an NFL Hall of Famer

Ken Riley's career milestones:A look at new Pro Football Hall of Famer, Cincinnati Bengals great

Five moments:When Willie Anderson and Ken Riley endeared themselves to Bengals fans

Riley will join Anthony Munoz as Bengals in the Hall.

Here are five things to know about Riley.

1. Riley is Top 5 in NFL history in career interceptions

Riley, who spent his entire 15-year career in Cincinnati, ranks tied for fifth all-time in NFL history with 65 interceptions. Riley is tied with former Mr. Ohio Football Charles Woodson (Fremont Ross High School) on the list for fifth place.

The four players in NFL history with more interceptions than Riley are all members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Paul Krause, Emlen Tunnell, Rod Woodson and Dick “Night Train” Layne.

Rod Woodson is the lone player in NFL history to pass Riley on the NFL’s all-time interceptions list since Riley retired in 1983.

2. Riley played quarterback in college

According to Florida A&M Athletics, Riley’s collegiate football career actually began under center. He was a four-year starting quarterback at Florida A&M and led the program to a trio of Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) titles under longtime head coach Jake Gaither (1945-1969).

Riley was drafted in the sixth round (135^th overall) of the 1969 NFL Draft and was converted to a defensive back by Bengals founder and then-head coach Paul Brown.

3. Riley was known as 'The Rattler'

Riley was known throughout his career as “The Rattler” after playing for the Florida A&M Rattlers.

When his playing career wrapped up in 1983, Riley was an assistant coach for two seasons with the Green Bay Packers under Forest Gregg, who coached Riley as the head coach of the Bengals for four seasons (1980-1983).

In 1986, Riley returned to his Alma mater and was the head coach for Florida A&M for eight seasons until 1993. He led the Rattlers to two Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championships and was twice named the league’s coach of the year.

Riley, who grew up in Bartow, Florida, five hours south of Tallahassee, became the Florida A&M athletic director in 1994, a position he held until 2003.

He was inducted into the Florida A&M Athletics Hall of Fame in 1982 and the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2015.

4. Riley saved his best for last

Despite ranking fifth in NFL history for interceptions, Riley was never selected to the Pro Bowl.

Riley's numbers actually got better as his career continued. In his first seven seasons (age 22-28), Riley recorded 29 interceptions. Over his final eight seasons, he had 36 picks. That includes a career-high nine interceptions in 1976, a Bengals’ franchise record that stood until Deltha O’Neal had 10 in 2005.

Riley had 18 interceptions over his final three seasons. He was tied for the league-lead with eight interceptions during his final season in 1983, earning first-team All-Pro honors for the first and only time in his career. Riley was a two-time second-team All-Pro selection in 1975 and 1976.

Riley set a career-high with three interceptions, including off Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Namath in his final game as a New York Jet, in a 42-3 Bengals victory at Shea Stadium on Dec. 12, 1976. Nearly six years later, Riley repeated that feat with three picks of Jim Plunkett in a 31-17 Bengals win over the Los Angeles Raiders at Riverfront Stadium, returning one for a touchdown.

In fact, three of Riley’s five career pick sixes came over his final two seasons. In 1983, Riley picked off former Bengals teammate Jack Thompson and returned it for a score in Cincinnati’s 23-17 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Two weeks later, Riley’s fourth-quarter pick six off Cleveland’s Brian Sipe was the game-winner in a 28-21 Bengals victory.

Riley intercepted Minnesota’s Wade Wilson twice in his final NFL game on Dec. 17, 1983.

5. Riley was a part of the Bengals’ inaugural Ring of Honor Class

Riley died June 7, 2020, from a heart attack at 72. One year later, Riley, along with former Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson, were elected to the team’s inaugural Ring of Honor Class along with Paul Brown and Anthony Munoz.

Riley and company were inducted into the Bengals Ring of Honor at halftime of Cincinnati’s Week 4 Thursday Night Football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 30, 2021.

That night, Riley was represented by his son Ken Riley II, who also played defensive back at Florida A&M.

Riley's 207 career games with the Bengals was a franchise record until it was broken by Cincinnati native Kevin Huber in the 2022 season-opener.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame member Ken Riley: Five facts about him