Bengals player part of Ryan King Memorial event in Fairfield

HOW TO GO

WHAT: Carlos Dunlap signing

WHEN: 5 to 6 p.m. Nov. 11

WHERE: Queen City Sports Cards, 530 Wessel Drive

COST: $25. Call 513-317-0082 or email heirloomframingcompany@gmail.com

A Bengal and three new business are making a tribute to a Fairfield graduate who died this past summer a reality.

Cincinnati Bengal Carlos Dunlap, a defensive end for the team, will appear at Queen City Sports Cards on Nov. 11 at their Fairfield location on 530 Wessel Drive, said Andy Stuckert, one of the owners, and a longtime friend of Ryan King, who was a football standout for the Fairfield Indians.

Ryan King, 30, died June 3 after drowning in Bellevue, Ky. Proceeds from the event will go the Ryan King Memorial, with the goal of building a field house at Fairfield Stadium, Stuckert said.

“He was really, really, really big on tradition and helping people out, and that’s what we’re doing here,” Stuckert said

The goal is to break ground on the field house in summer of 2014. To get there, Queen City Sports Cards and the other businesses at the same location will enact random acts of kindness to help people in need. Other participating businesses are the Heirloom Framing Company and Hartland of Ohio, which specializes in sports figurines. They are also located at 530 Wessel Drive.

“We are not afraid to be a feeder for other charities,” Stuckert said.

When a star athlete dies, his or her number is usually retired, but the Ryan King memorial is taking a different tact. Instead, it will allow a Fairfield player to wear King’s number — 74 — as an honor. The first recipient of that honor is Robert Behanan, who, like King, is an offensive lineman. And by coincidence, he already wears number 74, Stuckert said.

Fairfield’s athletic director, Mark Harden, has worked with Stuckert and others on the tributes said the district was grateful for their efforts.

“We are certainly honored that Andy Stuckert and some of Ryan’s classmate’s have taken this project on in Ryan’s honor. It’s been a tremendous process so far, and we certainly appreciate their efforts to put something permanent in Ryan’s honor at the stadium that meant so much to him and his classmates. It is certainly something that is needed and it is neat to see them rally around our department and our community to give back,” Harden said.