Richard J Reilly, Jr.

1935 - 2020
Richard J. Reilly Jr.
Platform Tennis Trailblazer

Platform tennis court innovator, outdoor enthusiast and entrepreneur, Richard J. Reilly Jr. 84 passed away from complications of heart disease at his home in Teton County, Idaho with his loving wife of 62 years, Gail (Apgar) at his side.

Inventor of the aluminum platform tennis court and founder of R.J. Reilly Jr., Inc., Dick revolutionized the game. Dick led the sport's expansion, building courts in 40 US states and 16 countries, producing instructional videos, operating platform tennis camps and much more. He was inducted into the Platform Tennis Hall of Fame in 1974.

Dick grew up in Scarsdale, NY and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1957 where he rowed crew, played football and pole vaulted. He earned a Masters in Public Health at Columbia. He and Gail raised their family in South Salem, NY. The octaganol home he designed and built on a small lake provided an idyllic childhood for his children.
His passion for mentoring young people included reviving the Boy Scouts program and starting the local youth football program in Northern Westchester and reviving the football program at Wooster School in Danbury, CT where he was also business manager for two years. Way ahead of Title IX, he started a girls tackle football program.

Dick spent several years working for the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation in New York.

Dick brought platform tennis to the northern Rockies with a paddle camp and dude ranch near Glacier National Park. Dick taught himself "natural horsemanship" before the Horse Whisperer was a household word and became known for his gentle way with horses when he wasn't tending to his prolific gardens. Dick hosted an annual platform tennis tournament, the Grizzly Affair, and ran a platform tennis camp in the fall with the country's top pros.

After twelve years in Montana, Dick and Gail moved the paddle camp to Jackson Hole where they ran their popular instructional enterprise until 2013.

Dick included his four children in his love for the outdoors. He started them with hikes and canoe trips as toddlers in the White Mountains and Canadian wilderness. When the youngest was eight, he deemed them ready for backpacking trips in the Tetons. Watching their father stand his ground and call the bluff of a charging bear, and snuggling into backcountry tents while he slept in his snow quinzhee hut are some of many fond recollections.

Preceded in death by his parents Richard J. Reilly and Helen (Meyn) Reilly, he is survived by Gail, his four devoted children Tammy (Dan Newton) of Kalispell, MT, Jim (Karen) of Darien, CT, Kathy (Mark Gross) of Jackson, WY and Janet (Andy Hawkes) of Boulder, CO. He leaves ten adoring grandchildren and three great grandchildren. He is also preceded in death by his sister Norine (Toole) and brother Alby. Our world feels a little less colorful without him.

A memorial mass and celebration of life will be announced by his family at a later date.