Edward Rile (June 30, 1900 – June 8, 1971), nicknamed "Huck", was an American

Negro league The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

who played for several teams from 1918 to 1936.

Early life and career

Rile was born on June 30, 1900, in Columbus, Ohio, the son of Edward Rile and Laura Turner. He made his debut in September 1918 as an 18-year-old pitcher with the

Dayton Marcos The Dayton Marcos were a Negro league baseball team based from Dayton, Ohio that played during the early twentieth century. Founding and early years The Dayton Marcos history predates the formal organized leagues of Negro league baseball. As an ...

. He pitched in at least eight games for Dayton in 1919. Rile joined the

Indianapolis ABCs The Indianapolis ABCs were a Negro league baseball team that played both as an independent club and as a charter member of the first Negro National League (NNL). They claimed the western championship of black baseball in 1915 and 1916, and fini ...

of the new Negro National League for the start of the 1920 season. However by late August, he had jumped to the independent

Lincoln Giants The Lincoln Giants were a Negro league baseball team based in New York City from 1911 through 1930. Founding The Lincoln Giants can trace their origins back to the Nebraska Indians, of Lincoln, Nebraska, from the 1890s. According to Sol White, ...

. Another independent club, the

Bacharach Giants The Bacharach Giants were a Negro league baseball team that played in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Founding The club was founded when two African-American politicians moved the Duval Giants of Jacksonville, Florida, to Atlantic City in 1916 an ...

, objected to Rile's presence with the Giants, while the Negro National League decided that none of their clubs could remain in the league if they were to face the Lincoln Giants while Rile was playing. He did ultimately appear in games for the Giants in September and October. Remaining with the Lincoln Giants for the start of 1921, Rile joined the Columbus Buckeyes by early September. Among his highlights were throwing a no-hitter against Indianapolis and winning both games of a doubleheader against the Chicago Giants. In early October, Rile,

John Henry Lloyd John Henry Lloyd (April 25, 1884 – March 19, 1964), nicknamed "Pop" and "El Cuchara", was an American baseball shortstop and manager in the Negro leagues. During his 27-year career, he played for many teams and had a .343 batting average. Lloy ...

and

Frank Warfield Francis Xavier Warfield (April 26, 1897 – July 24, 1932) was an infielder and manager in the Negro leagues. Career Standing at just 5'7", Warfield was known primarily for his fielding and baserunning excellence, but he also had several good yea ...

were loaned to the

Kansas City Monarchs The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 19 ...

for a series against the Kansas City Blues of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

due to injuries to Rube Curry,

Dobie Moore Walter "Dobie" Moore (February 8, 1896 - August 20, 1947) was an American shortstop and right-handed batter in the Negro leagues who played his entire career with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro National League. His career ended after only ...

and

Bartolo Portuondo Bartolome "Bartolo" Portuondo (August 24, 1893 – May 26, 1981) was a Cuban baseball infielder in the Cuban League and the U.S. Negro leagues. In Cuba he played from 1911/12 to 1926/27 with several teams, most notably Almendares. His Americ ...

. He pitched in at least four games with the Monarchs and allowed eight

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

in 6.1 innings for a 11.37

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. In 1922, Rile joined the

Chicago American Giants The Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in black baseball. Owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew "Rube" F ...

, pitching in at least 22 games with a 6-5 win-loss record and 3.09 ERA, highlighted by a two-hit, 14-striketout performance against the Cuban Stars on April 8. He returned to the club for the 1923 season, and threw a one-hitter against the St. Louis Stars on June 11. In 31 recorded games, Rile finished the year with a 15–7 record, 14 complete games and a league-leading 2.53 ERA. In March 1924, Rile and Harold Treadwell combined to throw a no-hitter for Chicago against a club in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

. Rile joined the

Homestead Grays The Homestead Grays (also known as Washington Grays or Washington Homestead Grays) were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro leagues in the United States. The team was formed in 1912 by Cumberland Posey, and remained in continuo ...

in May 1924, with the ''Pittsburgh Courier'' calling Rile at the time "one of the most dangerous moundsmen the game has ever known." By July, he was back with the American Giants and remained with the club through the end of the season. American Giants owner

Rube Foster Andrew "Rube" Foster (September 17, 1879 – December 9, 1930) was an American baseball player, manager, and executive in the Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981. Foster, considered by historians to have been per ...

released Rile in March 1925. Rile then rejoined the Indianapolis ABCs before the season began. In the 14 recorded games he pitched in 1925, Rile struggled with a 2–9 record and 7.57 ERA as the team finished in last place. In August, he returned to the Dayton Marcos for a brief appearance against the C.M.I.A. club.

Success as a two-way player

Still with Indianapolis, Rile transitioned to a

two-way player In sports that require a player to play on offense and defense (such as basketball and ice hockey), a two-way player refers to a player who excels at both. In sports where a player typically specializes on offense or defense (like American footb ...

in 1926, spending time as both a pitcher and

. He pitched to a 2.44 ERA in nine recorded games, with totaling a .310

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

in 60 games. Rile joined the

Detroit Stars The Detroit Stars were an American baseball team in the Negro leagues and played at historic Mack Park. The Stars had winning seasons every year but two, but were never able to secure any championships. Among their best players was Baseball Hall of ...

in 1927 and went 11-6 in 18 documented games as a pitcher, finishing the year with a 2.43 ERA. At the plate, he batted a career-high .389 with 11

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and .439 on-base percentage. He played for the

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

team in the

Cuban League The Cuban League was one of the earliest and longest lasting professional baseball leagues outside the United States, operating in Cuba from 1878 to 1961. The schedule usually operated during the winter months, so the league was sometimes known a ...

in the winter of 1927-28. After the Stars acquired pitchers Rube Curry and Ted Shaw, he spent the majority of the 1928 season solely at first base, pitching in only two documented league games. Rile lead the league with a .425 on-base percentage, hitting .348 with eight documented home runs.

Later career

By 1929, Rile was used almost exclusively as a first baseman, as he batted .286 in 68 documented games for the Stars that year. Towards the end of the season, he rejoined the Chicago American Giants and batted .333 in three documented games. In his final season as a full-time player in the Negro National League, he batted .304 in 65 documented games in 1930 for the Stars. Rile made one documented appearance as a pitcher with the

in 1931 before playing with the independent Detroit Giants and

Brooklyn Royal Giants The Brooklyn Royal Giants were a professional Negro league baseball team based in Brooklyn, New York. Formed in 1905 by John Wilson Connor (1875–1926), owner of the Brooklyn Royal Cafe, the team initially played against white semi-pro teams. ...

as both a pitcher and first baseman from 1931 to 1936. He also managed and played for the Syracuse Black Chiefs in 1935. He died on June 8, 1971, in

Grove City, Ohio Grove City is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States which was founded in 1852. It is a suburb of Columbus. The population was 41,252 according to the 2020 Census. History Until the mid-19th century, the area that is now Grove City was ...

."Ohio Death Index, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VKYP-F24 : 30 June 2021), Edward Rile, 1971.

References

External links

an
Baseball-Reference Black Baseball stats
an
Seamheads
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rile, Ed 1900 births 1971 deaths Brooklyn Royal Giants players Chicago American Giants players Columbus Buckeyes (Negro leagues) players Dayton Marcos players Detroit Stars players Homestead Grays players Indianapolis ABCs players Indianapolis ABCs (1931–1933) players Kansas City Monarchs players Lincoln Giants players 20th-century African-American sportspeople Baseball pitchers