Early life Riley was born in
Toronto,
Ontario. As a teenager, he began an 11-year playing career, mostly in the
Eastern Hockey League and the
American Hockey League. Riley played for the
Baltimore Orioles,
Baltimore Clippers,
Philadelphia Falcons,
Hershey Bears,
Washington Lions, and
Tulsa Oilers during his career. After retiring as a player in 1950, he became the Lions' head coach and remained with the team until 1953. In 1959, he became
general manager of the American Hockey League's
Rochester Americans. He served in that capacity until 1964 and was president of the AHL until 1966 before accepting a general manager position with one of the National Hockey League's new expansion teams.
Pittsburgh Penguins When the NHL decided to expand in 1967. Riley had offers to be a general manager from the Pittsburgh Penguins,
St. Louis Blues and the
Philadelphia Flyers. Riley decided on Pittsburgh, because of its proximity to his family in Toronto, and was hired by the Penguins' owner
Jack McGregor, who also served as the team's president and CEO. As the Penguins' general manager, Riley helped pick the team's nickname and the team's uniform colors, which were Columbia blue, navy blue, and white. Riley died on July 13, 2016, in Scott Township (just outside of Pittsburgh) at the age of 97. ==Career statistics==