Former Greeneville football head coach and athletic director Don Riley has died earlier this week. Riley coached Greeneville from 1960 to 1965 and also served as the athletic director.
Riley was a former East Tennessee State College athlete, playing both baseball and football, and was the starting quarterback his senior year in 1955. After graduation, he was an assistant coach at ETCS before returning to his hometown to coach at Lynch, Kentucky, for three seasons. While at Lynch, he was named the Southern Kentucky Coach of the Year in 1958 and coached his team to the Division A State Championship in Kentucky. Riley left to become the freshman coach at Vanderbilt University in 1966. He was also an assistant coach at Oklahoma State. He became the offensive line coach at UCLA in 1976 and then the head coach at ETSU in 1988 until 1992.
Riley coached 66 games at GHS and had an overall record of 41-25 in his six seasons as the Greene Devil head coach.
During a speaking event at Holston Home in 1999, Don Riley said that in his forty years coaching, “nothing can parallel the experience we had while in Greeneville, Tennessee.”
Riley was 89 years old at the time of his passing.
| 1960 | ||||
| Coach Don Riley | ||||
| Overall 7-4 Home 3-3 Away 4-1 Big Seven 2-4 | ||||
| 2-Sep | Cocke County | Newport | 26-6 | W |
| 9-Sep | Tennessee High | Greeneville | 7-27 | L |
| 16-Sep | Unicoi County | Erwin | 12-6 | W |
| 23-Sep | Elizabethton | Greeneville | 0-7 | L |
| 7-Oct | Morristown | Greeneville | 13-0 | W |
| 14-Oct | Dobyns Bennett | Greeneville | 0-19 | L |
| 21-Oct | Science Hill | Johnson City | 7-13 | L |
| 28-Oct | Church Hill | Church Hill | 6-0 | W |
| 4-Nov | LaFollette | LaFollette | 41-13 | W |
| 11-Nov | TMI | Greeneville | 34-7 | W |
| 17-Nov | Rogersville | Greeneville | 13-0 | W |
| 9th Annual Tobacco Bowl | ||||
| 1961 | ||||
| Big 7 Co-Champions | ||||
| Coach Don Riley | ||||
| Overall 9-2 Home 5-1 Away 4-1 Big Seven 4-2 | ||||
| 1-Sep | Cocke County | Greeneville | 18-0 | W |
| 8-Sep | Tennessee High | Bristol | 0-19 | L |
| 15-Sep | Unicoi County | Greeneville | 27-7 | W |
| 22-Sep | Elizabethton | Elizabethton | 19-7 | W |
| 6-Oct | Morristown | Morristown | 21-7 | W |
| 13-Oct | Dobyns Bennett | Kingsport | 13-7 | W |
| 20-Oct | Science Hill | Greeneville | 6-7 | L |
| 27-Oct | Church Hill | Greeneville | 27-0 | W |
| 3-Nov | Boones Creek | Greeneville | 48-0 | W |
| 9-Nov | TMI | Sweetwater | 26-13 | W |
| 17-Nov | Knoxville East | Greeneville | 20-7 | W |
| 10th Annual Tobacco Bowl | ||||
| 1962 | ||||
| Coach Don Riley | ||||
| Overall 6-6 Home 3-4 Away 3-2 Big Seven 2-4 | ||||
| 31-Aug | Cocke County | Newport | 20-0 | W |
| 7-Sep | Tennessee High | Greeneville | 12-7 | W |
| 14-Sep | Unicoi County | Erwin | 7-6 | W |
| 21-Sep | Elizabethton | Greeneville | 0-13 | L |
| 5-Oct | Morristown | Greeneville | 7-28 | L |
| 12-Oct | Dobyns Bennett | Greeneville | 0-26 | L |
| 19-Oct | Science Hill | Johnson City | 0-20 | L |
| 26-Oct | Huntsville | Huntsville | 19-7 | W |
| 2-Nov | Rogersville | Rogersville | 7-19 | L |
| 9-Nov | Brainerd | Greeneville | 0-32 | L |
| 16-Nov | Unicoi County | Greeneville | 19-12 | W |
| 30-Aug | Cocke County | Greeneville | 40-6 | W |
| 11th Annual Tobacco Bowl | ||||
| 1963 | ||||
| Coach Don Riley | ||||
| Overall 6-4 Home 4-1 Away 2-3 Big Six 2-3 | ||||
| 6-Sep | Tennessee High | Bristol | 13-7 | W |
| 13-Sep | Unicoi County | Greeneville | 10-0 | W |
| 20-Sep | Elizabethton | Elizabethton | 0-10 | L |
| 27-Sep | Brevard, NC | Greeneville | 17-7 | W |
| 4-Oct | Morristown | Morristown | 6-19 | L |
| 11-Oct | Dobyns Bennett | Kingsport | 3-7 | L |
| 18-Oct | Science Hill | Greeneville | 9-19 | L |
| 25-Oct | Huntsville | Greeneville | 67-0 | W |
| 1-Nov | Brainerd | Chattanooga | 26-0 | W |
| 15-Nov | Jefferson City | Greeneville | 21-6 | W |
| 12th Annual Tobacco Bowl | ||||
| 1964 | ||||
| Big 6 Champions | ||||
| Coach Don Riley | ||||
| Overall 8-3 Home 5-2 Away 3-1 Big Six 5-0 | ||||
| 28-Aug | Cocke County | Newport | 34-6 | W |
| 4-Sep | Lake City | Greeneville | 27-0 | W |
| 11-Sep | Tennessee High | Greeneville | 17-7 | W |
| 18-Sep | Unicoi County | Erwin | 35-0 | W |
| 25-Sep | Elizabethton | Greeneville | 19-0 | W |
| 2-Oct | Brevard, NC | Brevard, NC | 0-7 | L |
| 9-Oct | Morristown | Greeneville | 14-7 | W |
| 17-Oct | Dobyns Bennett | Greeneville | 6-12 | L |
| 23-Oct | Science Hill | Johnson City | 28-14 | W |
| 30-Oct | Brainerd | Greeneville | 7-21 | L |
| 13-Nov | Fulton | Greeneville | 12-7 | W |
| 13th Annual Tobacco Bowl | ||||
| 1965 | ||||
| Coach Don Riley | ||||
| Overall 5-6 Home 4-2 Away 1-4 Big Six 1-4 | ||||
| 27-Aug | Lynn View | Greeneville | 14-13 | W |
| 3-Sep | Cocke County | Greeneville | 26-6 | W |
| 9-Sep | Tennessee High | Bristol | 6-13 | L |
| 17-Sep | Unicoi County | Greeneville | 14-7 | W |
| 24-Sep | Elizabethton | Elizabethton | 0-13 | L |
| 8-Oct | Morristown | Morristown | 0-14 | L |
| 15-Oct | Dobyns Bennett | Kingsport | 0-21 | L |
| 22-Oct | Science Hill | Greeneville | 7-35 | L |
| 29-Oct | Brainerd | Chattanooga | 20-7 | W |
| 5-Nov | Ketron | Greeneville | 20-0 | W |
| 12-Nov | Chattanooga City | Greeneville | 0-12 | L |
| 14th Annual Tobacco Bowl | ||||
