For one former Buffalo Bills great, the accolades and recognition keep pouring in.
This June, The City of Allentown unveiled new signage on a park and street to honor native son and Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Andre Reed.
"If someone were to say to me they were going to name a park and street after me in high school, I probably would have said, 'Yeah, right,'" Reed said with a laugh. "I would have been like, 'What do I have to do to have that happen?' You have to do something extraordinary or significant for someone to do that to you. It's a heck of an honor."
"Andre Reed has brought great honor to Allentown and it is only fitting for the city to recognize him in the area where he first made a name for himself," said Mayor Ed Pawlowski.
Reed began his football career at Allentown's Dieruff High School, where he played quarterback. He played collegiately at Kutztown University.
Recently, his alma mater changed the name of University Field to University Field at Andre Reed Stadium in his honor.
After college, Reed became a record-setting wide receiver on the Bills, playing in four consecutive Super Bowls during a 16-year career with Buffalo and the Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last year.
"It's a heck of an honor," Reed said. "When I was in high school and if someone were to say that a few years down the road they were going to name a park and street after me, I would not have believed them," Reed said. "It's been a year since the Hall of Fame enshrinement, and I can think of what it means to me and it's a lot of emotion. It's pretty overwhelming sometimes."
This past May, Reed was inducted into the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Alumni Hall of Fame.
"It's been an awesome time with the Hall of Fame and all the accolades that have got over the past ten-fifteen years," Reed said. "It wouldn't be possible without the Boys and Girls Club."
While growing up in Allentown, Reed spent a lot of time at the Allentown Boys Club.
"That's where you plant your seed," Reed said. "Your seeds are planted when you're a little kid you just have to keep making sure your watering it. You can't let it go dry."
Along his football career he has learned some valuable life lessons.
"My whole life has been about timing," Reed said. "Sometimes I have wanted things to happen right away, like a lot of people do, but patience is a virtue and I have been patient. You get rewarded for patience, you do. You have to be resilient and patient at the same time. You have to be willing to deal with circumstances and let the chips fall where they may because that's usually how it ends up anyway."
