The countdown to the 2015 regular-season opener for the Cincinnati Bengals has reached 65 days. Here's a look at former Bengals to wear No. 65 during their time in Cincinnati:
PLAYER | SEASONS |
Bill Kindricks | 1968 |
Wayne McClure (66) | 1970 |
Maulty Moore | 1975 |
Max Montoya | 1979-89 |
Mike Arthur | 1991-92 |
Darrick Brilz | 1994-98 |
John Jackson | 2000-01 |
Eric Steinbach | 2003-06 |
Dan Santucci . | 2007-09 |
Clint Boling | 2011-15 |
There's no debating who the greatest Bengal to wear No. 65 is. Max Montoya, a four-time Pro Bowler and one of three Bengals players to start in both Super Bowls, wore that number from 1979-89. Afterwards, Montoya joined the Los Angeles Raiders in the early 90s until his retirement in 1994.
Darrick Britz later wore No. 65 for five years while starting 76 games at center for the Bengals. That came after a five-year stint in Seattle that saw Britz start at guard. After Britz, Eric Steinbach was a quality guard on a stacked Bengals offensive line from 2003-2006. He started 62 games with Cincinnati before departing for Cleveland in '07, where he also started in 62 games.
The No. 65 is now worn by Clint Boling, who's started 47 career games at guard for the Bengals. He's just the latest of a strong group of guards to wear that number in Cincinnati.
Bill Kindricks, who played nine games during the franchise's inaugural season, is the first to wear No. 65. After the Kansas City Chiefs beat Cincinnati on November 10, 1968, several Chiefs players accused Kindricks, Pat Matson and Fletcher Smith of playing dirty. Junious "Buck" Buchanan, a six-time AFL All-Star and two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle with the Kansas City Chiefs said, "That damn Matson. I wish I'd played in front of him the whole game. There'll be another time." Some of the charges included a Fletcher Smith clothesline on Chiefs' Noland Smith. Bengals head coach Paul Brown shrugged his shoulders and said, "He simply tackled him around the head, which is legitimate." Fletcher Smith was a safety with the Bengals from 1968-1971 and, ironically, played with the Chiefs from 1966-1967.