lawyer gridiron football player
Riley was born in Escanaba, Michigan in 1885. His father, Nicholas J. Riley (1855–1900), was born in Ireland, and his mother, Anna (McNamara) Riley (1859–1929), was a Wisconsin native. At the time of the 1900 United States Census, Riley was living with his mother and two brothers (John and William) in Escanaba.
He graduated from the Law School in 1910, was admitted to the Michigan Bar in September 1910, and became associated with the firm of Rushton & Riley in Escanaba, Michigan.
He played football for the and coached football for the University of Maine (1910–1913) and Amherst College (1914–1916). He played as a guard for the "s 1908 football team Riley was the assistant coach of the University of Maine"s football team in 1910.
That year, Maine tied for the Maine Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) championship.
In November 1911, Maine head coach Edgar Wingard announced that he would not act as head coach of the football any longer and would instead give all of his time to the general direction of athletics. On November 21, 1911, the University of Maine Athletic Association announced that Riley had been hired as the new head football coach.
The Lewiston Daily Sun reported on Riley"s hiring as follows:
"Reilly is a man of experience. He played end on the and was the choice for that position on the All-America team
His work at Mine has been largely responsible for the success of the team"
Riley served as the head coach at Maine from 1912 to 1913.
He led the Maine football team to consecutive MIAA championships. In March 1914, Riley was hired as the head football coach at Amherst College. He held that job from 1914 to 1916.
In his first year at Amherst, he led the team to a 5–3 record, including a victory over rival Williams by the greatest margin in 16 years.
In November 1915, Riley signed a contract to coach at Amherst for another two years. In February 1915, Riley married Janet Chaplin, a graduate of the University of Maine, in a ceremony held at Bangor, Maine.
From 1915 to 1916, Riley was the Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Delta County, Michigan. He served as the mayor of Escanaba in 1917.
Riley died in March 1928 at Escanaba.
