Lapham, a third-round draft pick of the Bengals in 1974, played for the team through 1983 and went on to join the broadcast booth after retiring in 1986. This year marks his 50th overall.
Parrish, a seventh-round draft pick in 1970, played cornerback for Cincinnati through 1977 and was a six-time Pro Bowler during his time with the Bengals.
The duo makes up the fifth class of the “Ring of Honor,” and they will be recognized in an induction ceremony during halftime of the Oct. 26 game against the New York Jets.
“This is a dream,” Parrish said on a Zoom press conference with local media. “I had a dream as a little boy of becoming the greatest player in the world. I had big dreams as a kid. I can recall sitting on the couch with my mother, telling her that I was gonna play football, I was gonna take care of her, and this honor means the world to me. I put in a lot of work, a lot of time, a lot of fear of not producing and not being the best that I was capable of being. So, to have been chosen means the world to me, and I’m grateful.”
Parrish had never played defensive back before coming to Cincinnati but he was drafted for his athleticism and what he could bring to special teams as a punt returner. Known for his charismatic personality, flashy attire and energetic play on the field, he remains the franchise’s highest scoring defensive player, with touchdown returns recorded on four interceptions, four punts, three fumbles and one kickoff.
Known as “Leapin’ Lemar,” he tallied 25 interceptions with Cincinnati, which remains fifth-most in team history, and he boasted an 18.8-yard punt return average in 1974, which still is the best mark by any player in a season since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger.
Parrish said he had a knack for making players miss him as a running back and receiver, prior to being drafted, but he was too small to continue in those roles. He was naturally athletic and fast, but he worked to make that into his best asset, running through soft sand on the beaches in West Palm Beach, where he grew up, and along highways, always carrying a football.
The Bengals took a chance on him and converted him into one of the most exciting defensive players in the organization’s history.
“I’m glad that the Bengals drafted me,” Parrish said. “I had a chance to learn the game, and I had a chance to play for one of the greatest coaches that ever lived, Paul Brown. When I was a young boy, I came to the Bengals as a defensive back, which I never played it before. And I had a great coach in Chuck Weber … and the game became simple to me because he broke it down and taught me and those around me the do’s and don’ts and what to look for and etc. So, I had great coaching there, and I’m glad to have been chosen by Paul Brown.”
Long-time Bengals fans remember Lapham for his versatility as an offensive lineman capable of playing all five positions, but they also have followed the game through Lapham’s insight on the radio for almost 40 years. He has been a part of all three of Cincinnati’s Super Bowl runs, the first as a player in the 1981 season and two others in the broadcast booth (1988 and 2021).
Despite all of his contributions to the organization, Lapham still called it “shocking” and “mind boggling” to be going into the “Ring of Honor.”
“When you first start playing the game of football as a young, young kid, you hope you might be able to make it to the National Football League, and then if you can make it there, you hope you can survive a final cut and play, and then if you can play for a number of years, that’s the ultimate dream,” Lapham said. “And I was very fortunate to be able to live that ultimate dream as a player with some great football teams.
“…And then upon completion of playing for a decade with the organization, to be allowed to broadcast and communicate the successes of the organization for four decades is just incomprehensible.”
Lapham said he always had a passion for football because the game captured his curiosity in a way that mesmerized him. Always being bigger than the other kids his age, he ended up playing with older kids and got to learn the game in “interesting fashion,” he said. He was challenged playing kids that were more mature and physical than him, and that set him on a path for success in high school, college at Syracuse University and in the NFL.
Nicknamed “Mr. Bengal,” Lapham will celebrate his 1,000th game with the organization this season, including both his playing and broadcasting careers.
“How many people can say that they’re doing exactly what they wanted to do when they’re a child, you know, a lot of years ago and then to be able to do it for the same franchise for 50 years?” Lapham said. “And like you say, there are about 60 years in existence themselves, to be there for 50 of those 60 years as a player and as a broadcaster, I mean, that’s unique. That’s special to see all that history unfold.”
Now Lapham and Parrish are officially marking their place in Bengals history.
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