Neily worked for 17 newspapers from his start in 1898. His last stop was the Chicago American, where he remained for 17 years until his retirement in 1933. A charter member of the BBWAA, he resigned as sports editor of the St. Louis Times in 1914 to become business manager of the St. Louis Feds. He was later responsible for building Wrigley Field on Catalina Island, where the Cubs trained.
