Willie Anderson, the former Vigor High School standout and Auburn All-American who became one of the most dominant offensive linemen of his era, is set to be inducted into the Cincinnati Bengals’ Ring of Honor this week, adding another accolade to a career already stacked with honors.
Anderson and former Bengals wide receiver Isaac Curtis make up the second class of inductees into the Ring of Honor, a distinction the Bengals created to recognize the greatest figures in franchise history. The induction ceremony takes place Thursday night before the Bengals host the Miami Dolphins, with a celebration for the two honorees beginning the night before at the stadium.
“When the votes came in, they had me going into the second class with the great Isaac Curtis, so it’s definitely an honor,” Anderson said in a recent interview. “Being the first player that played at the current stadium, which started off as Paul Brown Stadium and is now Paycor Stadium, is an honor too because I recognize that so many great players came before me that put the organization on their backs and carried the team for years and years before Willie Anderson was even thought about. So to be inducted this early, I take a lot of pride in that and I take it very seriously and humbly.”
The inaugural Ring of Honor class was inducted the previous season and included franchise owner and head coach Paul Brown, quarterback Ken Anderson, offensive lineman Anthony Munoz and defensive back Ken Riley. Following Anderson and Curtis into the second class keeps the Mobile native in rare company among the players who built the Bengals franchise.
A product of Mobile’s Vigor High School, Anderson went on to star at Auburn, earning All-SEC honors before the Bengals made him the 10th overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft. He spent 12 seasons in Cincinnati, from 1996 through 2007, before finishing his playing career with one season with the Baltimore Ravens.
At 6-foot-5 and 340 pounds during his playing days, Anderson anchored the Bengals’ offensive line for more than a decade, earning three first-team All-Pro selections, one second-team All-Pro nod and four trips to the Pro Bowl. Many analysts and former teammates regard him as one of the greatest right tackles to ever play the position. In 15 career matchups against opponents who are now enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Anderson allowed just a single sack. He played all 16 regular-season games in a season 10 times and once started 116 consecutive games for the Bengals, a remarkable streak of durability for any NFL player, let alone an offensive lineman. His 181 games played for Cincinnati trail only Munoz’s 185 among offensive linemen in franchise history.
The accolades are nothing new for Anderson, who was inducted into the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2021. Last year, he was named a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and while he was not elected, many around the sport believe his enshrinement in Canton is only a matter of time.
Anderson said he has family and friends traveling in from Mobile, Atlanta and Texas, along with people he has stayed close to in Cincinnati, all converging on the city for the induction festivities.
“I’ve got family members and friends who are still in Cincinnati, so I’m just trying to get everybody tickets and get things lined up,” Anderson said. “It’s a real big deal, and the organization has been so helpful trying to help everybody out and get things locked in. They are flying my mom up from Mobile.”
The celebration begins the night before the game with a “Legends Storytelling” event at the stadium, where Anderson and Curtis will be joined by dozens of their former teammates swapping stories from their playing days.
“About 25 of Isaac Curtis’ teammates are coming and about 25 of my guys are coming,” Anderson said. “Just being around those guys who made such a big impact on me and my life, coming from Mobile, Alabama, and from Auburn to Cincinnati, and playing 13 years, 12 with the Bengals, there are so many guys who helped me get to that point. There’s so many guys that I needed to play well in order for me to have any kind of fame come to myself.”
Since retiring as a player, Anderson has stayed close to the game, working as a coach and advisor for high school and college offensive linemen and passing along the techniques and fundamentals that defined his own career. He has also remained connected to his hometown, and last year he was among the former players who traveled to Birmingham’s Protective Stadium to watch the Vigor Wolves win the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 4A state championship.
Anderson said he is looking forward to standing on the field for the ceremony itself, a moment more than a decade of Bengals history in the making.
“You see other teams do it, but to be in the second class and to see all the planning and programming and everything that goes into it and the things that have to be done, it’s something,” he said. “I can’t wait.”
With the Dolphins entering the game undefeated at 3-0, Anderson said the matchup adds extra stakes to an already momentous week for the franchise.
“The Dolphins are coming in 3-0, so it’s going to be a huge game for the Bengals at this point in the season,” he said. “We need to get that win.”