The Cincinnati Bengals are one of few teams without any type of Ring of Honor or team Hall of Fame. This wouldn’t be particularly bad, if the Bengals were a big market team. But, since they are not, this means that their legends almost never get the recognition they deserve.
Of the thousands of players who have donned the orange and black tiger stripes, only one is a Hall of Famer, and that is former left tackle Anthony Muñoz. That is because he is widely considered to be the best left tackle in NFL history. Beyond that, there are a few others who may be worthy. The most notable are CB Ken Riley and QB Ken Anderson.
Unfortunately, due to the general lack of success throughout their history, many Bengals are overlooked. It took the death of Ken Riley to reignite his claim to the Hall of Fame. It is a travesty that so many great players still have not gotten the recognition they deserve. Whether they are Hall of Fame worthy or just really good players, they deserve recognition for what they brought to the Bengals.
If the Bengals did implement a Ring of Honor, notable candidates may be:
– Anthony Muñoz (OT)
– Ken Riley (CB)
– Ken Anderson (QB)
– Corey Dillon (RB)
– Tim Krumrie (DT)
– Chad Johnson (WR)
– Willie Anderson (OT)
– A.J. Green (WR)
– Geno Atkins (DT)
There are many more players I could add here, but you get the point. The Bengals, despite their general lack of success, have had many great players that are more than deserving of some kind of recognition by the team.
It is a great shame that the ownership in Cincinnati is allowing some of the teams’ greatest players be forgotten to time. These players deserve so much better for what they accomplished. Once again, it took the death of Ken Riley just to get his name brought back up. It should not take the death of a former player for us to remember them.
It is difficult gaining any sort of recognition coming from a small market team which has had little success over its history. Even those who deserve league-wide recognition find it challenging to even be known in their own city. These players should at least be able to find solace from the team they played so greatly for. The greatness of players like those who were previously listed should not go unnoticed for much longer.
The time has come for the Bengals’ ownership to create a Ring of Honor or team Hall of Fame. No more former players should live their lives without the recognition they deserve. Mike Brown, it’s time.