Former Pittsburgh Steelers RB Richard Huntley is being inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame. Huntley was one of seven men selected as part of the 2024 Class, as announced earlier today.
“This Class of 2024 is a great showcase of the some of the incredible football talent that has been produced from Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” said Doug Williams, co-founder of the Hall, on its website. “The Black College Football Hall of Fame serves to honor those who paved the way for the game today and these men did just that.”
Huntley spent three years with the Steelers, 1998-2000. With Pittsburgh, he carried the ball 194 times for over 1,000 yards with nine rushing touchdowns. He also scored three more through the air, all coming during the 1999 season. His best game came in a 43-0 blowout over the Cleveland Browns, welcoming them back to the league to kick off the ’99 campaign. Huntley found the end zone three times that day, once on the ground and twice through the air.
He also has the distinction of scoring the final touchdown ever recorded at Three Rivers Stadium, this tough 30-yard run to help beat the Washington Redskins in the 2000 regular-season finale. Three Rivers was demolished in February 2001 while Heinz Field opened later that year. After leaving the Steelers, he led the Carolina Panthers in rushing for 2001, finishing with 665 yards.
Before the NFL, Huntley was a star at Winston-Salem State. Rushing for over 1,000 yards in all four seasons with the North Carolina school, he finished his college career second in NCAA history with 6,286 yards rushing. He was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round of the 1996 draft. Huntley was inducted into the CIAA Hall of Fame in 2017. Now, he’ll forever be a member of the Black College Football Hall of Fame.
Alongside Huntley, former Indianapolis Colts’ safety Antoine Bethea will also be inducted. Drafted in 2006 out of Howard, he had a long and excellent career, playing through his age-35 season, ending with the New York Giants after 2019. Bethea made exactly 200 career starts, intercepting 25 passes, and was a three-time Pro Bowler.
The official induction ceremony will take place June 8, 2024, in Atlanta.
