Don O’Riley

“It’s really a dream come true – the happiest moment of my life. To get a chance to play before my home town.” – Don O’Riley

The classic dream of kids who love baseball is that they will be good enough to play professionally and make the major leagues. If that can be done with their hometown team, in front of family and friends, that would be a particularly satisfying bonus. In a life that could otherwise be viewed as difficult and far too short, it’s important to remember that Don O’Riley lived that boyhood dream, complete with the bonus so few major leaguers get.

Donald Lee O’Riley was born in Topeka, Kansas, on March 12, 1945, the youngest of five children of James P. and Laura Marie (Williams) O’Riley. Before Don was born, the first of many tragedies to strike the family had already occurred, when his brother, Thomas, died in late 1942 when he was just 2 years old.1 Though Don was born in Topeka, the family’s home was in Kansas City, Missouri, where James worked for the Kansas City Police Department2and Marie worked in cosmetic sales at a pharmacy.3 Don and his siblings grew up in Kansas City and he spent almost his entire life there.

Don attended Northeast High School, where he lettered in three sports,4 but not baseball. For that he played in a local amateur league called 3&2 Baseball, where he excelled,5 regularly being named to its year-end all-star teams.6 He continued in that league even after graduating from Northeast in 1963, and it was during the league’s Senior division season of 1964 that he drew the attention of Kansas City Athletics scout and future Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog, who signed him as an amateur free agent.7 It was a thrilling moment for O’Riley, not only because the Athletics were his hometown team, but also because, as he said, “the A’s are going for youth. I figured it was my best bet, especially with my inexperience. I know you’ve got to bear down to make it in baseball. You’ve got to work. I’m ready to do that. Ever since I was old enough to play I’ve wanted to be a big leaguer.”8

O’Riley’s first season as a professional began with a happy family event, but ended with another family tragedy. In March 1965 he married his high-school sweetheart, Gail Nelson,9 before reporting to the Burlington Bees of the Midwest League. O’Riley had a very good season for a strong Bees club that finished with a league-best 82-40 record and featured eight players who would eventually reach the major leagues, including future A’s captain and third baseman Sal Bando. O’Riley appeared in 39 games, all but  four of them in relief, posting a 7-1 record and a 2.01 ERA in 94 innings. Manager Gus Niarhos was very pleased with his young right-hander, saying, “Don has done a heck of a job for us. He has an outstanding curveball – and he knows how to get it over. He can throw every day. He does his best job in relief.”10 Don was happy with his performance as well, and enjoyed his role in the bullpen. “I like to come in from the bullpen,” he said. “Right now, I don’t think I have enough experience to start all the time. I like to go in with men on; you know you have to throw strikes.”11 Overall, it was an excellent debut, but it was sadly marred as the season was in its final days when Don’s father, Jim, died from a heart attack at the age of just 50.12

The strong showing in 1965 wasn’t enough to move Don along to the next level, and he started the 1966 season still in Burlington. He was one of only two players from the previous season to be assigned to the Bees again,13 and he turned in a very similar performance, throwing 89 innings in 33 appearances, all but four still in relief, with a 6-9 record and a 3.34 ERA. This was enough to move him along to the Peninsula Grays of the Carolina League for the 1967 season. O’Riley was reunited with Niarhos, who was then managing the Grays, a strong club that finished 74-64 and featured 15 future big leaguers, including Jim Holt, Darrell Evans, and Gene Tenace. O’Riley pitched well, appearing in 42 games, all in relief, and posting a 2-3 record and a 2.13 ERA in 76 innings pitched. It earned him a promotion at the end of the season to the Birmingham A’s of the Double-A Southern League, where he played for future major-league manager John McNamara and joined a championship team that featured many of the stalwarts of the A’s three consecutive World Series-winning teams of the early 1970s, including Reggie Jackson, Rollie Fingers, and Joe Rudi. O’Riley pitched in only three games there before the season ended, but was on the roster for Birmingham’s appearance in the 1967 Dixie Series against the Albuquerque Dodgers, the final time the long-running series was played between the winners of the Double-A Southern League and the Double-A Texas League.14

After the 1967 season ended, O’Riley learned that he was no longer working for his hometown franchise. After months of rumors, the American League allowed Athletics owner Charlie Finley to move the team from Kansas City to Oakland for the 1968 season.15 A new franchise would eventually be placed in Kansas City, but at least for 1968, O’Riley would be working for the Oakland Athletics. He spent that winter preparing for the season by pitching in the Puerto Rican Winter League,16 which was followed by a nonroster invitation to spring training with the A’s.17 His performance there was strong enough to allow him to be assigned to the Vancouver Mounties of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.18 O’Riley repeated his performances from his earlier minor-league stops, posting a record of 4-5 with a 3.26 ERA in 102 innings of almost entirely relief work. He was described as “a big righthander who they say doesn’t give a damn about anything – except maybe getting the opposition out. … He’s a bit of a comedian, as an afternoon paper writer from Vancouver found out the other day when O’Riley used the freeze gun that trainers find indispensable these days and put his left arm out of condition.”19

Being a comedian with a good curveball and carefree attitude apparently wasn’t enough for the deep Athletics to decide to protect him when the expansion draft was conducted at the end of the season. O’Riley was made available to the two new American League franchises, the Seattle Pilots and his hometown Kansas City Royals. In the fourth round of the draft, with the 38th overall pick, the Royals decided to bring O’Riley home and drafted him.20 He was ecstatic with the news, going so far as to call the local paper to verify that it was true, and telling a sportswriter, “I’ve been over to my father-in-law’s, then to my mother’s. My mother was so happy, she’s been crying and all that. I just can’t believe it. I couldn’t when I heard it. I had just got off work – I’m working construction in the offseason. I stopped by my mother’s and she said she heard it on the radio. I didn’t believe it, so I had to call up to find out for myself. It was the furthest thing from my mind. I didn’t even give it a thought to going in the major league draft. I had thought maybe later in the minor league draft. It’s really a dream come true – the happiest moment of my life. To get a chance to play before my home town.”21 He heard the news officially from the Royals after that, meeting with new manager Joe Gordon, and then traveling to Florida to work on his pitching.22

O’Riley further honed his skills in winter ball, playing for Acarigua in the Venezuelan Winter League.23 Though he felt he improved his control and pitched well, he didn’t enjoy the experience. “I’ll never go back there,” he said. “I was pitching against Rollie Fingers and the score was 0-0 going into the ninth. I was working on a three-hitter and Rollie had only given up five hits. The fans started throwing everything on the playing field. The plate umpire suffered a split finger when someone hit him with a rock or something and there was no way to quiet the fans so we lost the game on a forfeit. Those people like the game, but they don’t know what’s going on. It’s not that way in Puerto Rico.”24

When he returned from Venezuela, O’Riley decided to get a jump on spring training by arriving early, singularly focused on making the team. “I want to be there early,” he said. “There’s going to be many players in the camp and I want to be ready to throw. Winter ball has kept me in perfect condition and I’m ready right now.”25 He told another writer, “I’m going to spring training with one thing in mind – making the club. I’ll worry about setting goals after that.”26 He did have at least one goal, though, beyond making the team: “I’m going after a starting job when we report to spring training.”27

The Royals must have viewed O’Riley as a potential starter, too, because even though he was described as a potential piece of their bullpen early in spring training,28 he was initially sent to Triple-A Omaha, where he worked primarily as a starting pitcher for the first time in his professional career. He made the conversion seamlessly and pitched well there, finishing the season with a 12-5 record and a 3.94 ERA in 137 innings pitched, tying Paul Splittorff for the team lead in victories for a strong club that won the league by six games. He received a solid report from his Triple-A manager, Jack McKeon, who advised Royals general manager Cedric Tallis that O’Riley had “an improved concept of pitching and definitely has a chance to become a major league pitcher.”29

By mid-June, O’Riley was leading the American Association in victories with seven, while the first-year Royals had allowed the second-most runs in the American League. Feeling they needed an infusion of pitching help, the big-league club decided it was time to make O’Riley’s dream come true, and called him up, along with veteran Galen Cisco, on June 19.30 O’Riley was moved back to the bullpen for the major-league club, and no time was wasted getting him into a game. He debuted in Seattle against the Pilots the next day, entering the first game of a doubleheader to begin the seventh inning in relief of starter Bill Butler. O’Riley retired the heart of the Pilots’ lineup in order, getting Rich Rollins and Tommy Davis on groundballs and Don Mincher on a lineout. He remained in the game for the eighth inning, walking John Donaldson but striking out Jerry McNertney for his first major-league strikeout and completing a second scoreless inning.

Initial success notwithstanding, O’Riley was inconsistent in his first weeks in the major leagues. Three scoreless outings were followed by three in which he gave up multiple runs in each. He surrendered runs in 8 of 13 relief appearances and sometimes went a week between outings before being sent back down to Omaha at the end of July. Still, there were some highlights. He picked up his first and what turned out to be his only major-league save in front of his hometown fans on July 4, and got his only major-league victory in relief a week later. “It made me very happy to get my first save and victory in my hometown,” O’Riley said. “It’s almost unbelievable that I’m in the majors. I’ve looked forward to this for a long time.”31 O’Riley was called back up in September, making five more relief appearances and continuing to struggle. For the year, his Triple-A success as a starter didn’t translate to big-league success as a reliever: He finished with a 1-1 record, just the one save, and a 6.94 ERA in 23⅓ innings of work.

O’Riley went into the winter more determined than ever to make the Royals’ roster coming out of spring training.32 He worked with the Royals trainers to get into playing shape as part of an offseason workout program started by new manager Charlie Metro.33 During spring training, he opened up to a sportswriter about how much it meant to him to play in Kansas City, and how crushed he was when he didn’t make the team the year before: “It was always baseball with me. I used to sit in the stands and say, ‘I’ll be out there some day.’ I used to tell my parents, ‘I’m going to play ball for Kansas City.’ And nobody really knows what it means to finally make it. You can say it’s a dream come true, but it’s more than that. I tried to get there early; I entered every one of those batboy contests – and never came close to winning. … I was disappointed, deeply disappointed, when I didn’t stick last spring. I couldn’t pitch better than I did down here last spring. I threw 13 innings, didn’t allow an earned run. I thought I had it made. … So I’m sent to Omaha. I didn’t like it. I couldn’t do anything about it. All I could do is tell them, ‘I’ll be back.’ But I wasn’t great when I did come up. There’s something about pitching in your hometown, before all your friends and relatives. You get those butterflies; you try to be too good. It got to me. But I feel ready now. I feel like I’m going to get a fair deal. Charlie (Metro) treats everybody fair. And he’s the one who picked me out of the draft. He knows what I can do. I haven’t talked to anybody about my feelings. I’m keeping my eyes and ears open, my mouth closed. I know I’m going to have to pitch my way to Kansas City.”34

In a repeat of the year before, O’Riley was sent to Omaha to start the season, a bitter disappointment. “I was ready to head back to Kansas City,” he said. “What I would do I didn’t know. I just wanted to get out of baseball. [My wife told me] baseball is your life. You would be miserable doing anything else. So you’re not going to quit. Not now.”35 That pep talk, plus a discussion with McKeon, persuaded O’Riley to report to Omaha, where, other than his win total, he essentially repeated his performance from the year before. Used only as a starter again, he posted a 5-8 record and a 3.60 ERA in 110 innings. And just like the year before, his stay in Triple A was interrupted by a call-up to the Royals in June.36 The results weren’t much better than the year before. He did get to start two games, but had no record in nine appearances, posting a 5.40 ERA in 23⅓ innings, the exact total of major-league innings he’d managed in 1969. In his final big-league game, on August 1, 1970, he entered the game in the fifth inning in Baltimore with the Royals already trailing the Orioles 6-0. He held his own for three innings, keeping the eventual World Series champions scoreless, but in the final inning of his major-league career, the Orioles touched him up for three runs, including a two-run homer by Elrod Hendricks.

That spelled the end of O’Riley’s time with his hometown Royals – and in the major leagues. He was traded on October 13, 1970, along with Pat Kelly, to the Chicago White Sox for Gail Hopkins and John Matias.37 White Sox manager Chuck Tanner didn’t seem overly excited to have him. “We’ll have to see how he does. He was just fair at Omaha this year with 5-8, but had a good season in 1969 with 12-5. I’m told he’s a bulldog type, which means he’s always got a chance.”38

To say that O’Riley’s life become a bit more unsettled after his final year in the major leagues would be an understatement. Ineffective in spring training with a sore elbow,39 he was released by the White Sox before spring training ended, but didn’t sign with another team and found himself back in Kansas City, serving as assistant coach on a Ban Johnson League team.40 He managed to catch on with the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, the Richmond Braves, in 1972 and pitched well enough for them to return the following year, but couldn’t earn a call-up to the big leagues, and then he struggled in 1973 before injuring his arm in a motorcycle accident,41 ending his professional career. His marriage to Gail ended, and he would marry three more times while working as a truck driver for beer distributors,42 keeping fit by golfing and playing fast-pitch softball,43 and making occasional appearances for the Royals at alumni events.44

Eventually O’Riley went to work at the Fast Stop convenience store near his home, a job his family said he took to allow him free time during the day to golf.45 On the night of May 2, 1997, 21-year-old Robert Muse entered the store and confronted O’Riley with a pistol, demanding the money from the store’s cash register. O’Riley, the man described during his career as a “bulldog” who didn’t “give a damn about anything – except maybe getting the opposition out,” pulled out his own pistol rather than comply. Both men fired, O’Riley’s shot hitting Muse in the back, while Muse’s shot hit O’Riley in the head, killing him instantly.46 He was found by police on the floor of the store, $136 from the cash register missing.47 “I never did think he would die of old age,” said his former wife, Gail.48 Muse was arrested, convicted of second-degree murder, and sentenced to life in prison. O’Riley’s daughter, Angela, who had become a sheriff’s deputy, was able to witness Muse’s sentencing.49

But that didn’t bring back her father. Don O’Riley, the only Kansas City native from the original Royals expansion draft class, was dead at the age of 52. He left behind his fourth wife, Marquita, a son, a daughter, two stepsons, his mother, Marie,50 and the memories of local Kansas City baseball fans, who at least got to witness one of their own live out the dream they shared with him.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com for all statistics, transactions, and box score information.

Photo credit: Don O’Riley, courtesy of the Kansas City Royals.

Notes

1 Find-A-Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7285646/thomas-patrick-o’riley.

2 “James P. Riley Obituary,” Kansas City Times, September 15, 1965: 21. The nature of his work is unclear. The obituary says he was a clerk in the department’s detention bureau, but was also a member of the Missouri Peace Officers Association.

3 “Laura Marie O’Riley Moore Obituary,” Kansas City Star, May 8, 2001: B5.

4 Dick Wade, “O’Riley Certain This Is His Year,” Kansas City Times, March 1, 1970: 4S.

5 “Hurling Is Tough,” Kansas City Star, June 19, 1961: 13.

6 “Folger’s and Diesel Top Senior 3 and 2 All-Stars,” Kansas City Star, July 13, 1964: 13.

7 Paul O’Boynick, “Kansas Citian Eyes Royal Hill Berth,” Kansas City Times, January 25, 1969: 4D.

8 Sid Bordman, “Kansas City Hurlers on Beam for Burlington,” Kansas City Star, August 27, 1965: 28.

9  Bordman, “Kansas City Hurlers on Beam for Burlington.”

10  Bordman, “Kansas City Hurlers on Beam for Burlington.”

11  Bordman, “Kansas City Hurlers on Beam for Burlington.”

12 “James P. O’Riley Obituary.”

13 Gus Schrader, “Red Peppers,” Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette, May 2, 1966: 17.

14 Jeb Stewart, “The 1967 Dixie Series,” Baseball Research Journal, Spring 2020. SABR.org, https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-1967-dixie-series/.

15 Joe McGuff, “Long-Run Gain,” Kansas City Star, October 19, 1967: 1.

16 Miguel Frau, “Bando’s Bat Booming Despite Long Layoff,” The Sporting News, January 20, 1968: 39.

17 “Slipping Vets Earn Another Shot at Majors,” The Sporting News, March 2, 1968: 32.

18 Clancy Loranger, “Sports,” Vancouver (British Columbia) Province, April 11, 1968: 14.

19  Loranger, “Sports.”

20 Larry Claflin, “Pilots Select Vets, Royals Corral Kids,” The Sporting News, October 26, 1968: 11.

21 Gib Twyman, “Dream Comes True for Don O’Riley,” Kansas City Times, October 16, 1968: 2B.

22 Bill Ellingsworth, “Royals Give O’Riley Big Chance,” Kansas City Times, October 24, 1968: 12A.

23 Eduardo Moncada, “Bob Lee’s Hill Feats Pad Caracas’ Lead,” The Sporting News, December 21, 1968: 47.

24 Paul O’Boynick, “Save, Victory Surprise O’Riley,” Kansas City Star, July 15, 1969: 15.

25 Paul O’Boynick, “Kansas Citian Eyes Royal Hill Berth,” Kansas City Times, January 25, 1969: 4D.

26 Tom Murray, “Don O’Riley Awaits Chance to Make Hometown Debut,” Joplin (Missouri) Globe, February 6, 1969: C1.

27  Murray, “Don O’Riley Awaits Chance to Make Hometown Debut.”

28 Joe McGuff, “Royals Start Operation Shakedown,” The Sporting News, March 1, 1969: 16.

29 Joe McGuff, “Home Park Is Royal Horror Chamber,” The Sporting News, July 5, 1969: 21.

30  “Home Park Is Royal Horror Chamber.”

31 Paul O’Boynick, “Save, Victory Surprise O’Riley,” Kansas City Star, July 15, 1969: 15.

32 Sid Bordman, “Vacancy Sign in Royal Bullpen; Lefty Warden Says He’ll Fill It,” The Sporting News, January 17, 1970: 41.

33 Sid Bordman, “Metro the Captain Bligh of Baseball,” The Sporting News, January 24, 1970: 40.

34 Dick Wade, “O’Riley Certain This Is His Year,” Kansas City Times, March 1, 1970: 4S.

35 Dick Wade, “O’Riley Glad He Stayed in Game,” Kansas City Star, July 2, 1970: 17.

36 Joe McGuff, “A New Pair of Shoes Robs Royals of Keough’s Big Bat,” The Sporting News, July 18, 1970: 34.

37 Joe McGuff, “Royal Fans Reserve Judgment on Trade,” The Sporting News, October 31, 1970: 48.

38 Edgar Munzel, “Kelly Injects Speed Into Sluggish Pale Hose,” The Sporting News, October 31, 1970: 46.

39 Richard Dozer, “Sox-Andrews Stalemate on Contract Looms,” Chicago Tribune, February 27, 1971: 64.

40 “Back Home,” Kansas City Star, May 21, 1971: 20.

41 Christine Vendel, “Former Royals Player Dies During Store Robbery,” Kansas City Star, May 4, 1997: B1.

42 Matt Campbell, “Ex-Royals Player Donald O’Riley Is Buried,” Kansas City Star, May 7, 1997: C-2.

43 “Farmland Wins City Fast-Pitch Title,” Kansas City Star, September 1, 1977: 5 East.

44 Rich Sambol, “Around KC,” Kansas City Star, December 1, 1995: D3.

45 Campbell, “Ex-Royals Player Donald O’Riley Is Buried.”

46 Vendel, “Former Royals Player Dies During Store Robbery.”

47 Joe Lambe, “Law Officer Sees Her Father’s Killer Sent to Prison,” Kansas City Star, January 13, 1999: B1-2.

48 “Ex-Royals Player Donald O’Riley Is Buried.”

49 “Law Officer Sees Her Father’s Killer Sent to Prison.”

50 “Donald Lee O’Riley Obituary.”