Steelers Legend Mel Blount Believes Ken Riley Should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

"It's an injustice."

Author:
James Rapien
Publish date:
Jun 3, 2021 3:23 PM EDT

CINCINNATI — Bengals legend Ken Riley isn't in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but fans and former players are trying to change that.

Anthony Munoz, Ken Anderson and other Cincinnati greats have each endorsed the former All-Pro cornerback.

Riley finished with 65 interceptions, which is tied for the fifth-most in NFL history. His stellar play caught the attention of legendary Steelers cornerback Mel Blount, who also believes Riley should be in Canton.

^{"I watched Ken Riley for 14 years of my career play cornerback and played it as well as anybody, including myself. This man had 65 career interceptions," Blount said. "[He] played tremendously all of those years. Ken Riley was a true All-Pro Hall of Famer and I think it's an injustice, not only to the Hall of Fame, but to guys like myself who are in the Hall of Fame to have a guy like Ken Riley sitting out there and has not been recognized for the work that he did and the contributions that he made to the National Football League. If there's any such thing as a Hall of Famer, it's Ken Riley. And I'm pleading and asking all of the voters and everyone who supports people like Ken Riley, who deserves to be recognized for their work. I'm saying this as a Hall of Famer. It's a shame and we gotta correct that."}

Riley had eight more interceptions (65-57) than Blount and is clearly respected by his peers.

Riley passed away last year. He's a finalist for the Bengals Ring of Honor. Season ticket holders will determine the two legends that will Munoz and Brown in this years' inaugural class.

Hopefully a call to Canton will come shortly after Riley's induction into the Ring of Honor.

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