Richard ”Rip” Riley
“Rip” Riley was born and raised in Wayne, Ohio, a small town in northwestern Ohio. His school did not have a baseball program, so he took up softball, learning to pitch by his own efforts. By the time he was 16, he was pitching for three different teams.
At the age of 18, he entered the army, serving in World War II for four years. He was able to play ball in the army and pitched in the European finals.
After the service years, he pitched for a lot of different teams. After marriage, he had the opportunity to move and play in Colorado. There, his team won three national championships in 1950, 1951, and 1952. Rip was selected to the All World First Team and was chosen as the National Tournament Most Valuable Player each of those years.
Returning to Ohio, Rip continued to pitch for various teams, sometimes throwing as many as six games a week. His name was well known in Ohio softball circles where teams vied for his services. He hooked up with the Fremont Paint team for a number of years during which time he became acquainted with the Faultless Rubbermen softball team as a worthy opponent. The Faultless Rubber Company offered hi a job in 1963, which he accepted, and in his own words said, “This was a great thing for me.” He added, “The first year we went to the state tournament and won it. We finished runner-up in the national regionals.”
Riley pitched three years for Faultless before retiring for two years. He then came back to pitch two more years, became manager for two years, and then served as their business manager for eight more years.
Rip was also deeply involved in umpiring from 1963 to 1982, and served as President of the Ashland Umpire Association from 1966 to 1970. In 1983, he was inducted into the Ohio Softball Hall of Fame.
Riley has three children: Debra in Oregon, Dick and David of Ashland. He retired from Faultless in 1986 and gets some enjoyment playing golf.
Softball accomplishments include a career record of 1,500-300; no-hitters 200; national championships, 3 (1950, 1951, 1952) All-Regional First Team, 6; All-State, 5; State MVP, 4; All-District, 8; Most Valuable Pitching Award, over 70 (from various tournaments).
Faultless Rubber: 1964 team record of 68-13, pitching 25-5, All District, State, Regional MVP awards, District, and State champions; 1965 team record 64-20, pitching 23-6, Regional Runner-up, MVP of Regional; 1966 team record 82-20, pitching 26-6, Regional Champions, National Tournament (first for Faultless), MVP of Memorial Day Tournament; 1970 team record of 61-19, pitching 15-5, Regional Tournament, MVP of Memorial Tournament.
Pitching record with Faultless – 89-22, team record with Faultless – 275-69
Manager 1971 – 55-21; 1972 – 60-24 = 115-45.
Nominator: Doug Brewer
