Lee Riley from Princeton Nebraska started his professional career in 1927. He played for Ottumwa for 23 games and Lincoln in the Western League for 10 games.
In 1928 he went to Pueblo in the Western League where he played for four years. His average was over .300 in each of these years with a .370 average in 1928.
For the next three years he played for two different teams each year. Omaha and Rochester in 1932, Elmira and Houston in 1933, Huntington and Davenport in 1934. The next two years were in Davenport.
He led the Nebraska State League in batting in 1937 with a .372 average. In 1938 he repeated with a .365 average and also led the league that year in RBI's with 172.
1939 was another multi team year with Lee playing in Knoxville, Elmira and Baltimore during the year. He then moved to northern New York and played for Oneonta in 1940 and Rome in 1941 in the Canadian American League.
Another two team year in 1942 with stints in Wilmington and Memphis.
He made it to the major leagues in 1944 with Philadelphia (NL). He played in four major league games and had 12 at bats. For most of the 1944 year he played for Utica in the Eastern League.
He stayed with the Phillies as player and manager for the rest of his career. Two years at Bradford and two at Schenectady carried him from 1945 through 1948. 1949 saw him at Terre Haute.
He was back in Utica as a manager in 1950 and finished with Schenectady as manager in 1951.
He was the consumate minor league player. He played for 21 different minor league teams during his 22 year career. He averaged .314, had 248 home runs and 2,418 hits. His 460 doubles, 195 triples and 248 home runs place him second all time for minor league extra base hits.
He retired to Schenectady NY. His son Pat Riley is the well known NBA coach.