Robert A. Ricci, husband of Maryanne Daley and son-in-law of the late Joan (Riley) Daley (1929-2019) and the late Frederick ‘Nick” Daley (1927-1991) was born on this day.

Bob grew up on the Pawtucket/North Providence line and developed into a very good athlete, becoming one of Rhode Island’s better goalies. In fact, Bob went on to play goal at Elmira College and graduated with a degree in Business Administration.

My father, Patrick J. Riley (1900-1985) always enjoyed Bob. Whether it was the conversations they had or Bob’s mannerisms. Bob seemed to always put a smile on my father’s face. I remember Bob always ended his conversations with my father by saying, “See ya later, gramps,” and this took place even before Maryanne and Bob were engaged. Just a nice reflection on Bob’s personality.

Bob and Maryanne were married in Pawtucket back in the late 1980’s and have two adult children, Robert Andrew and Caroline.

Here is Bob as of a few weeks ago:

Bob still laces up the skates and hopes for call-up to the National Hockey League. Here he is in goal.

Happy Birthday, Bob. Keep skating and living the good life out west.

Frederick Albert Daley, “Nick,” was born on May 4, 1927 in Central Falls to the late Delia Bridget Calahan Daley (b. 1882 in Ireland – 1964) and the late John Thomas Daley (1882 – 1968).

According to The Pawtucket Evening Times (2 cents per copy), the temperature was beginning to warm, but the following days were to bring scattered showers to the area. The national news story of the day was that major flooding had occurred from Minnesota all the way down to New Orleans. The Blackstone Valley Red Cross was putting together a major fundraising drive to help with the recovery efforts. Another big story was the divorce proceedings Charlie Chaplin was embroiled in with his soon to be ex-wife. Seems Mrs. Chaplin wanted to have to court release the names of the five actresses Good Time Charlie was “associating with.” The famous comedian was ordered to temporarily pay alimony at $1,500 per month. In sports news of the day, although it was early in the baseball season, the Red Sox were already in last place. Down at the Leroy Theatre, there was a Hoot Gibson movie playing entitled: “The Denver Dude.”

By 1930 Nick’s family had moved into Pawtucket to Grand Avenue, just a few short blocks from the home of his future spouse, Joan Riley. An interesting tidbit from that 1930 census shows that his mother, born in the Ireland, also spoke Gaelic (Irish).

How does Nick Daley figure into the Riley Family Tree? Well, on November 9, 1953, Nick married Joan Louise Riley at St. Leo The Great Catholic Church on Central Avenue in the City of Pawtucket. A nice aside to this marriage is that Joan’s dad, Patrick J. Riley (1900-1985) was a very good friend of Nick’s dad way before Joan and Nick even met. The guys used to frequent the Monitor Club on Meadow Street to quench a terrible thirst and play some cards. Nick’s dad was known as the “Fox” because he was a bit of a wiz with the cards. What he’d do was have a half a glass of what looked like whiskey sitting beside him on the card table. In reality, it was tea. He would never drink from it, but it gave the impression that he was indulging, while observing the clouded mistakes of the other players. Ah, the wonders of Pawtucket!

Nick’s 1945 draft card states he was six feet tall and about 145 lbs, not big by today’s standards, but he was athletic enough in his day to play some varsity basketball for Bryant College. He loved local politics. Later on, in the late 1970’s, Nick was elected to the Pawtucket City Council.

Nick and Joan had six children: Fred (1957-1957), Tammie, Maryanne, John, Lynne and Elizabeth. Today, this Daley-Riley connection has grown to include 11 grandchildren and 1 new great grandchild.

Unfortunately, Nick passed away in November of 1991, when was he was 64 years old.