The Paycor Stadium Ring of Honor is now officially a rodeo as Bengals folk hero Tim Krumrie, the man with the Cowboy hat and frontier industriousness, takes his place among the franchise greats.
Krumrie, the scheme-busting nose tackle and tenth-round longshot who never missed a non-strike game during a dozen seasons in Cincinnati, becomes the Ring of Honor's first defensive lineman and the third player from the Super Bowl XXIII team.
"That was the whole thing. Production," Krumrie says. "And finally the good thing is everybody recognized it. Fans recognized the production."
He leads all Pro Football Reference defensive tackles with 1,017 career combined tackles and is the only defensive lineman with at least 600 during the 1980s, but his comeback from that Super Bowl is as memorable as that relentless production.
Krumrie suffered a gruesome career-threatening broken leg on the 49ers' seventh snap of that night in Miami, but less than eight months later he was back to line up on 1989 Opening Day in Chicago.
"It was pure willpower. And it was one of those things everybody just wrote me off. They forgot about me," Krumrie says. "I was coming back no matter what. It was one of those things overcoming adversity, whatever you want to say it is. It's called mental toughness and willpower."
It was also Bears center Jay Hilgenberg challenging him early.
"The good thing and the bad thing is when you have a traumatic injury like I had, there's always a doubt when you come out for the first game you play," Krumrie says. "He leg-whipped me.
"It's probably the best thing that happened to me. I turned to him and said, 'It's going to be a long day, baby. You're mine.' I was OK now. I'm OK."
That offseason and opener typified Krumrie's career, which lasted seven more seasons and saw him lead the Bengals in tackles for a fifth and final season at age 32 in 1992. He retired in 1994 because he lost a step.
"I wanted to be the best. Not average," Krumrie says. "The best."
The stats are stunning because 3-4 nose tackles just aren't supposed to have those numbers. Just look at those Pro Football Reference digts from the '80s.
Krumrie was the seventh-leading tackler in the decade with 659, behind Browns outside linebacker Clay Matthews (917), Saints outside linebacker Rickey Jackson (832), Jets inside linebacker Kyle Clifton (822), Broncos safety Dennis Smith (693), 49ers safety Ronnie Lott (668), and Washington linebacker Monte Coleman (660).
Let Krumrie, who coached the defensive line for 15 seasons in the NFL, tell you why the numbers are so shocking.
"I was a nose tackle. Not a defensive lineman, but a nose tackle. There's a difference between a nose tackle and a tackle," Krumrie says. "I had two gaps, not one."
Krumrie chalks up his ability to slip tackles from his days as a Wisconsin heavyweight state wrestling champion at Mondovi High who went on to finish fifth in the Big Ten meet as a sophomore.
"A lot of double teams. It's hard. I learned how to create a level at the point. Hit the center, pushing him back and create a little space between the guard and the center," Krumrie says. "You can split them by flipping your hips like a wrestler. That's how I got through."
He was drafted so late because he wasn't 260 pounds, but in 1983 he emerged in his rookie Bengals training camp when he tortured first-round pick Dave Rimington, a center from Nebraska.
"I showed everybody this guy is for real," Krumrie says. "A little wrestler getting underneath him for leverage."
The driving work ethic that steered him through 188 games, most by any Bengals lineman on either side of the ball is still on display today at age 64 at his suburban Cincinnati home in Maineville.
"I'm not a numbers guy, but I wanted to play in every game I could," Krumrie says. "That's what I'm really proud of. I never missed a game in college or the pros. Durability. That's hard."
Ring of Honor
The official source of Bengals Ring of Honor nominees, inductees, and more.
His high school sweetheart Cheryl has seen pretty much the same regimen for their 42 years of marriage.
It's a match made in the gym. She got her degree from Wisconsin in sports medicine and was there for every step of that long ago rehab. She also just got back from a grueling cycling trip in Spain.
"He eats breakfast and then goes downstairs in our workout room," Cheryl says. "He gets on the bike for 30 minutes, the treadmill for 30 minutes and rows for 30 minutes for 90 minutes of cardio. Then he goes to the wall for cord work and he does 500 crunches. Every day."
A day off?
"On my days off," Tim Krumrie says, "I mow the lawn for two hours and wash the car."
He also makes sure he reads two hours a day. He likes military history, but no one has been able to quite write the legendary battle he fought in that Super Bowl.
Despite his leg barely hanging together in the locker room, Krumrie requested only a beer and a TV. When they told him they had to set the leg, he balked.
Could he remember the game if they gave him painkillers?
No they told him.
"I said, 'Set it,'" Krumrie says. " 'What did the cowboys do?"'
This cowboy is riding into the Ring of Honor.
