Arch Reilly

Who was Arch Reilly?

Archer Edwin "Arch" Reilly was a Major League Baseball player. Reilly played in 1 game in 1917, for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He would not get an at-bat in the game, only playing third base.

Reilly led the Marshall College football team to an 8-0 season in his only year as Marshall's football coach in 1919. As the Marshall baseball coach in spring of 1920, his team was 8-8, and was the Herd basketball coach for 1918-19, leading the Herd to a 2-5 mark.

He had played for Marshall, leading the Herd to the state collegiate championship with a 14-6 mark for head coach Boyd Chambers. Archer Reilly lettered for the Ohio State Buckeyes in basketball in 1911, 1912 and 1913. In those seasons, Ohio State's record was 7-2, 7-5, 13-7.

Reilly was born in Alton, Illinois and died in Columbus, Ohio. He started in the minor leagues in Springfield for the Reapers in 1913 in the Central League, batting .267 with 20 doubles, 10 triples and one home run. In 1914, he played for both Springfield and for the Grand Rapids Champs, batting .271 with 18 doubles, six triples and two homers.

In 1915 and 1916, he joined the Wheeling Stogies, eventually becoming acting manager midway through the '15 season. He played and coached the legendary Earle "Greasy" Neale, from West Virginia Wesleyan College, who eventually played in the World Series with the champion Cincinnati Reds in 1919.