Information Wanted for Robert Wolfe Riley

 I am trying to find family members that might still have personal effects of the late Robert W. Riley, who passed away in 1987. Here is his obituary:

ROBERT WOLFE RILEY, 75, 203 Bella Coola Drive, Indian Harbour Beach, died Friday. Born in Winchester, Va., he moved to Indian Harbour Beach from St. Petersburg in 1976. He was a retired photographer and a member of Unity Church, Melbourne. He was a World War II Army veteran and a member of the China Burma India Veterans Association. Survivors: wife. Fran A.; stepdaughter, Mrs. Cecilia H. Cummins. Tampa; sister, Mrs. Betty Hall, Baltimore; two stepgrandchildren. No calling hours. Memorial service 2 p.m. today at Unity Church of Melbourne.

The survivors at the time, seem to be gone now. His stepdaughter, Ceclia, passed away in 2017, and some of her family might be helpful. The family of Betty Hall might also be helpful and/or knowledgeable about the subject.

Here is the obituary for Cecilia Cummins from 2017:

CUMMINS, Cecilia Huckeba, 73, passed away Sunday, October 1, 2017 from cancer in a hospice facility. She was preceded in death by her son, Michael, (widow, Michelle) and parents, Francis and Cecil Huckeba. She is survived by her son, Richard and his wife, Kristen; grandson, Garrett Cummins; granddaughters, Kaeli Cummins, Brittany Cristiano, and Alyssa Heidemann. Cecilia spent her school years in Indian Harbor Beach, FL, before relocating to Tampa, FL, where she lived until her death. She embraced the church and served her lord; she also lived her life as as true christian should.

Here’s why I am looking for the information:

Robert Riley was a photographer and he and his wife Fran were friends in St. Petersburg, Florida with Fred and Mary Lieb. Robert personally corresponded with Fred, and after Fred’s passing, with the remaining family. I have received some of the items from the Lieb family, but I am curious to see if somewhere in the Riley/Cummins family the letters from the Lieb’s are still in someone’s collection.

Mr. Lieb wrote a book about baseball in 1977, and the image on the back cover of the book, was taken by Robert Riley. In one of the letters from Mr. Riley to Mr. Lieb’s family after the passing of Mr. Lieb, mentions a personally signed copy of this photo from Mr. Lieb to Mr. Riley, that is something I would love to see.

Please reach out to me at SteveParkhurst@gmail.com if you have any items, any questions, or any tips on where I might look next or if you can help answer some questions. I am not interested in taking ownership of any materials, I would just be interested in seeing the items.

Fred Lieb Information Needed; Baseball Writer

I'm posting this in a couple of places on the internet in the hopes that the right person or people might find this.

I am doing a deep research dive into the life of Frederick (Fred) George Lieb. Fred Lieb was a prolific baseball writer who lived from 1888 until 1980. His last published book was Baseball As I Have Known It. Lieb is in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown as part of the Writers Wing. Fred Lieb dubbed Yankee Stadium "The House That Ruth Built."

I am looking for the hard-to-find items as they relate to Mr. Lieb. Articles, book excerpts, personal correspondence (perhaps you or a family member purchased something at auction), clippings, manuscripts, photos, autographs, etc, etc. Mr. Lieb spent the better part of his later years in St. Petersburg, Florida, writing baseball columns for the St. Petersburg Times as well as for The Sporting News, so perhaps someone from that area has items I would not have uncovered just yet.

I have of course already done some pretty common searches on the internet and have accumulated a few things. I do NOT need to own what you have, but scans and details would be most welcome.

Please reach out to me at SteveParkhurst@gmail.com if you have any items, any questions, or any tips on where I might look next.