Jim Riley (ice hockey)
Jim Riley | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | James Norman Riley May 25, 1895 Bayfield, New Brunswick, Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | May 25, 1969 (aged 74) Seguin, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 bats | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Runs scored | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 9 games in the NHL in 1926–27 and 6 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.
Playing career[]
Born in Bayfield, New Brunswick, 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. 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.[1] 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.
Riley died in Seguin, Texas, the day of his 74th birthday.
Career statistics[]
Regular season and playoffs[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
Notes[]
External links[]
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Jim Riley bio from seattlehockey.net, previously published in The National Pastime
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
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- 1895 births
- 1969 deaths
- Baseball people from New Brunswick
- Baton Rouge Senators players
- Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States
- Canadian ice hockey left wingers
- Chicago Blackhawks players
- Dallas Steers players
- Detroit Cougars players
- Fort Worth Panthers players
- Ice hockey people from New Brunswick
- Major League Baseball infielders
- Major League Baseball players from Canada
- Mobile Bears players
- People from Westmorland County, New Brunswick
- Salt Lake City Bees players
- San Antonio Indians players
- Seattle Metropolitans players
- Shreveport Gassers players
- St. Louis Browns players
- Stanley Cup champions
- Terre Haute Tots players
- Topeka Senators players
- Vancouver Beavers players
- Washington Senators (1901–1960) players
- Victoria Aristocrats players
- Canadian baseball biography stubs
- Baseball second baseman stubs
- Canadian ice hockey winger stubs