NFL
By Jalen Willingham
Now that the late former Bengals cornerback Ken Riley has been officially inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there is another forgotten Cincinnati Bengals player that deserves recognition and should be in the Hall of Fame. His name is Lemar Parrish.
Lemar Parrish was a cornerback drafted in the 7th round in the 1970 NFL Draft by the Bengals out of Lincoln University of Missouri. He played 13 seasons in the NFL from 1970-1982.
When asked about his time with the Bengals, Parrish says that he was “the best defensive back that ever left the Bengals.” Parrish isn’t really wrong either. He has quite the resume that backs up his statement.
Lemar spent eight seasons where he played in 105 games with the Bengals from 1970-1977 and had 25 interceptions and made the pro bowl six times. The next closest Bengals defensive back is David Fulcher who made just three pro bowls. Parrish has a total of eight pro bowls in his career along with two all-pro selections. He finished his career with 47 interceptions.
A true playmaker on both defense and special teams, he was also a very good return specialist as well. On top of having 4 interceptions returned for touchdowns, Lemar had three fumble recoveries returned for touchdowns as well as five punt and kick returns for touchdowns. He holds the team record with four punt returns for touchdowns. Parrish finished his tenure in Cincinnati with 78 points scored which is still the highest total by a defensive player in franchise history.
Lemar left Cincinnati due to contract problems but still played at a high level after being traded. Parrish later spent time with the Washington Redskins and Buffalo Bills. He is one of six cornerbacks to ever make the pro bowl eight times but is also the only one not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The other cornerbacks that made the pro bowl eight times are Deion Sanders, Rod Woodson, Charles Woodson, Aeneas Williams and Champ Bailey. The only difference between those guys and Parrish is that he never played in a Super Bowl.
It still shouldn’t matter whether or not Lemar played in a Super Bowl. The cornerback position is one of the hardest positions to play in football. You just don’t forget about an eight time pro bowl cornerback. If he played today, I’m sure everyone would know his name.
Parrish and recently inducted hall of fame cornerback Ken Riley also shared the field in Cincinnati for eight seasons. The Bengals had a top ten defense in five out of the eight seasons that the great cornerback duo shared the field together.
It would’ve been much easier for younger generations of Bengals fans to know who Lamar Parrish was if the Bengals took the time to honor their greats sooner. With the Bengals now inducting players into their newly begun Ring of Honor, they must do the right thing here. Lemar Parrish is a Bengals legend and an NFL legend. Induct him!!!.
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