Post Gazette · Jul 14, 2016
Jack Riley, Penguins' first general manager, dies at 97
Penguins general manager Jack Riley, left, and Civic Arena executive director Charles Strong, right, congratulate Mrs. Robert Birkholz, the arena's 7,000,000th visitor, in February 1968.Jack Riley, the first general manager in Penguins history, died Wednesday at the age of 97.
Riley was born in Toronto and briefly played minor-league professional hockey before joining the coaching and executive ranks.
He took over the general manager duties of the expansion Penguins franchise June 6, 1967, just four months before the team’s first game. He served in that role until May 1, 1970, and had a second stint as the team’s GM from 1972-1974. In the interim, he served as the team’s president.