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Ken "Fly" Conley

Seattle Cavaliers

Wide Receiver

1976-1982

A rocky start to college, "Fly" started out at Idaho State University as a freshman before transfering to Walla Walla where he would earn 1972 All-Northwest CC Conference 1st Team honors as a split end.  Recruited to Seattle, Conley became a two-year letterwinner at the University of Washington, and a solid possession receiver for the Huskies in 1973 and 1974 grabbing six touchdown passes during his junior and senior campaigns.  He then ran track in the spring of '75 in efforts to best his 22'2" long jump that he had set in high school as a Sacramento teen.

As a member of the UW alumni team, Conley was on the receiving end of the first touchdown pass in the history of the Kingdome taking an 18-yard scoring strike from Sonny Sixkiller in a 10-7 loss to the UW Varsity.  "Fly" was on the receiving end of two more touchdown strikes in the final 1977 Alumni vs Varsity game, tallying 162 yards receiving against the Husky varsity which included Warren Moon at QB.  Conley would get a look at replacing Dan Abramowicz in the San Francisco 49ers rookie and free agent training camp of 1975 before being released on July 20.

Recruited by Elmo Hudgens, Ken joined the Seattle Cavaliers in 1976 and until 1982 was one of the top receivers in the Northwest International Football League year-in-and-year-out.   Wearing the Double-Zeros, Conley was the first name on the roster for most of his semi-pro career. Prior to a 1980 game with the Spokane GoldenHawks, Hudgens told a Spokesman-Review reporter that Conley is the best receiver on the west coast.  "I think he's better than (Steve) Largent (of the Seattle Seahawks).  He's got good hands and he'll out run Largent any day of the week."  The same day the article was published, Conley struck Spokane with a 91-yard touchdown catch from hall of famer Bob Cason for the first score of the game.

Conley was an open-field nightmare for opposing defenses as the Cavaliers got him the ball on reverses that could turn into an 85-yard touchdown run in the blink of an eye, or as a dangerous punt return weapon, earning All-NIFL 1st Team Honors in 1976.

In 1977, it was Cason to Conley that ended the Pierce County Bengals defensive run of 15-scoreless quarters on a 4-yard slant to pull within 13-7.  The touchdown ended a 3-game shutout streak dating back to an August matchup with the Fort Lewis Warriors.

Going into a pivotal 1978 game with the Bengals, Conley posted his second 3-touchdown outing in a 33-27 overtime win over the Van-Port Thunderbirds, setting up a battle of regular season undefeateds, the leagues #1 and #2 quarterbacks (Bill Donckers and Bob Cason) and Ken as the NIFL's leading receiver.

For seven seasons, the 5'9" Ken Conley was 'the' rare quick-strike threat who was not wearing Bengal colors in the NIFL and was regarded as one of the top Cavaliers to ever play for Elmo Hudgens.