Jim Riley
Born
James Norman Riley

(1895-05-25)May 25, 1895
DiedMay 25, 1969(1969-05-25) (aged 74)

Baseball career
Second baseman
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 3, 1921, for the St. Louis Browns
Last MLB appearance
October 7, 1923, for the Washington Senators
MLB statistics
Batting average.000
At bats14
Runs scored1
Teams
Ice hockey career
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Chicago Black Hawks
Detroit Cougars
Seattle Metropolitans
Victoria Aristocrats
Playing career 19151929

James Norman Riley (May 25, 1895 – May 25, 1969) was a Canadian professional ice hockey and baseball player. The only person to play in both the National Hockey League (NHL) and Major League Baseball (MLB), Riley played nine games in the NHL in 1926–27 and six games in MLB between 1921 and 1923. In hockey he also played eight seasons in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, a rival major league of the NHL, in a career that lased from 1915 to 1929. While in the PCHA he mainly played for the Seattle Metropolitans, and won the Stanley Cup in 1917. Riley's baseball career lasted 12 seasons from 1921 to 1932, and was mainly spent in the minor leagues.

Early life

Born in Bayfield, New Brunswick, he moved to west Calgary as a boy.[1] After a season of amateur hockey on the Calgary Victorias he become a professional player after signing with the Victoria Aristocrats in time for the 1915-1916 season.[2]

Career

Riley played 17 games in the National Hockey League and 90 games in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, as a member of the Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Cougars, and Seattle Metropolitans. He won the Stanley Cup with Seattle in 1917. In 1922–23, he was named a PCHA First Team All-Star.

In addition, Riley played professional baseball for 12 seasons, from 1921 to 1932, mostly in the minor leagues. After batting .303 and hitting nine home runs in 56 games for the Vancouver Beavers in 1921 he was signed by the St. Louis Browns.[2] He started his career as a second baseman, and played in four games at that position for the 1921 St. Louis Browns of the American League, thus becoming the only athlete in sports history to play both Major League Baseball and in the National Hockey League.[3] After that season, he switched permanently to first base, and returned to the major leagues with the 1923 Washington Senators, playing two games with them, before resuming his career in the minors. In six major league games, he was 0-for-14.

He was inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.[1]

Personal life

He served in England for one in the Canadian Army in 1918 and achieved the rank of sergeant.[2] He served as part of an engineering detachment and played 3rd base on one of the military teams.[2] Due to the Spanish Flu Outbreak causing things to slow down he never saw action and was discharged in 1919 where he returned to Seattle and played seven more seasons there.[1]Upon his retirement from professional sports in 1932 he worked for a distillery in Dallas.[2]He and his family moved to Seguin, TX.[1] He enjoyed playing golf and won an amateur golf title in the 1920s in Vancouver and won the U.S. National Senior Golf Tournament in North Carolina in the 1960s.[1] He played well into his 70s.[1] Suffering from lung and stomach cancer, Riley died in Seguin, Texas, the day of his 74th birthday, May 25th, 1969. He is buried at Guadalupe Valley Memorial Park in New Braunfels, TX.[1] In 1973 his wife, Martha, passed away.[2]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1914–15 Calgary Victorias ASHL
1915–16 Victoria Aristocrats PCHA 1241514
1916–17 Seattle Metropolitans PCHA 241151634
1916–17 Seattle Metropolitans St-Cup 40003
1919–20 Seattle Metropolitans PCHA 221141549 21230
1919–20 Seattle Metropolitans St-Cup 50110
1920–21 Seattle Metropolitans PCHA 242352820 20000
1921–22 Seattle Metropolitans PCHA 241621827 20003
1922–23 Seattle Metropolitans PCHA 302342770
1923–24 Seattle Metropolitans PCHA 132241 20112
1926–27 Dallas Ice Kings Exhib
1926–27 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 30000
1926–27 Detroit Cougars NHL 602214
1928–29 Los Angeles Richfields Cal-Pro 224
PCHA totals 1679426120240 102358
NHL totals 902214

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Corben, Len (February 28, 2013). "Sapper on Winning Stanley Cup Team" (PDF). Society for International Hockey Research.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 sabr. "Jim Riley: A Unique Two-Sport Athlete – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  3. Legends of Hockey: Jim Riley
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