His father, Leon Riley, Sr., played professional baseball and briefly played in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies during World War II before relocating to Rome, New York to assume role as player/manager of a minor league team in 1940s to early 1950s.
During a playing career that stretched from 1927 to 1942 and 1944 to 1949, Riley appeared in 2,267 minor league games for 21 different teams, with a brief trial with the 1944 Philadelphia Phillies during the World War II manpower shortage.
Leon Trotsky | León | Terry Riley | Kings of Leon | Nuevo León | Leon Russell | León, Guanajuato | Jean-Léon Gérôme | Kingdom of León | James Whitcomb Riley | Leon | Saint-Pol-de-Léon | Leon René | Leon Lai | Léon Blum | Leon Redbone | León, Nicaragua | Bridget Riley | Bob Riley | Angelu de Leon | Province of León | Leon County, Florida | Leon Battista Alberti | León, Spain | Leon Panetta | Kings Of Leon | Juan Ponce de León | Baba O'Riley | André Leon Talley | Oscar D'León |
While the 1946 Blue Jays finished seventh in the eight-team Can-Am League, the 1947 edition, managed by Leon Riley, father of NBA executive and former coach Pat Riley, won the league pennant by 13 games and the playoff championship; it drew over 146,000 fans, almost 60,000 more than the second-most-popular Can-Am League team.