Thomas James Riley (January 30, 1885 – March 15, 1928) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and coach and attorney. He played football for the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and coached football for the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine, United States. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universitie ...

(1910–1913) and

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

(1914–1916).

Early years

Riley was born in

Escanaba, Michigan Escanaba ( ), commonly shortened to Esky, is a port city and the county seat of Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on Little Bay de Noc in the state's Upper Peninsula. The population was 12,450 at the 2020 census, making it the ...

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 The 1900 United States census, conducted by the Census Office on June 1, 1900, determined the resident population of the United States to be 76,212,168, an increase of 21.01% from the 62,979,766 persons enumerated during the 1890 census. It w ...

, Riley was living with his mother and two brothers (John and William) in Escanaba.

University of Michigan

He played as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for the

's 1908 football team. He won a reputation as a strong player based on his performance in the 1908 Penn game. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1910, was admitted to the Michigan Bar in September 1910, and became associated with the firm of Rushton & Riley in

Coaching career

Riley was the assistant coach of the

'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 Edgar Ramey Wingard (September 21, 1878 – July 31, 1927) was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at seven different schools: Ohio Northern University (19 ...

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 icis a man of experience. He played end on the University of Michigan and was the choice for that position on the All-America team. His work at Maine 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.("Thomas J. Riley, former end on the University of Michigan team, and the past four years coach at the University of Maine has been selected as coach for the Amherst eleven for the 1914 season. In his first year at Maine, Riley turned out a team that tied for the State Championship and in the following years won three successive Championships.") In March 1914, Riley was hired as the head football coach at

. He held that job from 1914 to 1916.("Thomas J. Riley, '10l, of the firm of Rushton & Riley, Escanaba, Mich., has signed a two year contract to coach the Amherst College football team. For the past four years he has been coaching the football team of the University of Maine.") 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.

Family and later years

In February 1915, Riley married Janet Chaplin, a graduate of the University of Maine, in a ceremony held at

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...

. From 1915 to 1916, Riley was the Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in

Delta County, Michigan Delta County is a county in the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,903. The county seat is Escanaba. The county was surveyed in 1843 and organized in 1861. Its name originates from the ...

. He served as the mayor of Escanaba in 1917. In a draft registration card completed by Riley in September 1918, he indicated that he was employed as a lawyer in Escanaba and that he was living at 304 Elmore in Escanaba with his wife, Janet Chaplin Riley. At the time of the

1920 United States census The 1920 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau during one month from January 5, 1920, determined the resident population of the United States to be 106,021,537, an increase of 15.0 percent over the 92,228,496 persons enumerated ...

, Riley was living in Escanaba with his wife and was working as an attorney. Riley died in March 1928 at Escanaba.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Thomas J. 1885 births 1928 deaths People from Escanaba, Michigan American people of Irish descent Amherst Mammoths football coaches Maine Black Bears football coaches Michigan Wolverines football players Michigan lawyers Players of American football from Michigan 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers