Jim Riley

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 lasted 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. 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. 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. 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. Upon his retirement from professional sports in 1932 he worked for a distillery in Dallas. He and his family moved to Seguin, TX. 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. He played well into his 70s. Suffering from lung and stomach cancer, Riley died in Seguin, Texas, the day of his 74th birthday, May 25, 1969. He is buried at Guadalupe Valley Memorial Park in New Braunfels, TX. In 1973 his wife, Martha, died.

Career ice hockey statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1914–15 Calgary Victorias ASHL — — — — — — — — — — 1915–16 Victoria Aristocrats PCHA 12 4 1 5 14 — — — — — 1916–17 Seattle Metropolitans PCHA 24 11 5 16 34 — — — — — 1916–17 Seattle Metropolitans St-Cup — — — — — 4 0 0 0 3 1919–20 Seattle Metropolitans PCHA 22 11 4 15 49 2 1 2 3 0 1919–20 Seattle Metropolitans St-Cup — — — — — 5 0 1 1 0 1920–21 Seattle Metropolitans PCHA 24 23 5 28 20 2 0 0 0 0 1921–22 Seattle Metropolitans PCHA 24 16 2 18 27 2 0 0 0 3 1922–23 Seattle Metropolitans PCHA 30 23 4 27 70 — — — — — 1923–24 Seattle Metropolitans PCHA 13 2 2 4 1 2 0 1 1 2 1926–27 Dallas Ice Kings Exhib — — — — — — — — — — 1926–27 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1926–27 Detroit Cougars NHL 6 0 2 2 14 — — — — — 1928–29 Los Angeles Richfields Cal-Pro — 2 2 4 — — — — — — PCHA totals 167 94 26 120 240 10 2 3 5 8 NHL totals 9 0 2 2 14 — — — — —