Don Miller (American football)
Don "Midnight" Miller (March 29, 1902 – July 28, 1979) was an American football player and coach. He was one of the famous "Four Horsemen" of the University of Notre Dame's backfield in 1924, when the Fighting Irish won the 1924 National Title. Miller was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1970.
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| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 29, 1902 Defiance, Ohio |
| Died | July 28, 1979 (aged 77) Cleveland, Ohio |
| Playing career | |
| 1922–1924 | Notre Dame |
| Position(s) | Halfback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1925–1928 | Georgia Tech (backfield) |
| 1929–1932 | Ohio State (backfield) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| All-American, 1923 All-American, 1924 National Champion 1924 | |
| College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1970 (profile) | |
Playing career
Miller's three brothers attended Notre Dame before him. The most famous of these being Harry "Red" Miller, captain of the 1908 squad. Notre Dame head coach Knute Rockne called Miller "the greatest open field runner I ever had."
In 2002, the NCAA published "NCAA Football's Finest," researched and compiled by the NCAA Statistics Service.[1] For Miller they published the following statistics:
| Year | Carries | Rushing Yards | Average | Receptions | Receiving Yards | Average | Touchdowns | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | 87 | 472 | 5.4 | 6 | 144 | 24.0 | 5 | 30 |
| 1923 | 89 | 698 | 7.8 | 9 | 149 | 16.6 | 10 | 60 |
| 1924 | 107 | 763 | 7.1 | 16 | 297 | 18.6 | 7 | 42 |
| Total | 283 | 1933 | 6.8 | 31 | 590 | 19.0 | 22 | 132 |
Coaching career
After his playing career, Miller coached at several colleges, including Georgia Tech. He became the head football coach of St. Xavier High School of Louisville, Kentucky in 1934.
Law career
Miller eventually quit coaching and practiced law, in which he was successful in the Cleveland area.[2] In 1925, he played professional football for the then-independent Hartford Blues.[3]
On February 5, 1957, Miller appeared on To Tell the Truth.
References
- "NCAA Football's Finest" (PDF). NCAA. 2002. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
- Don Miller at the College Football Hall of Fame
- Hogrogian, John (1982). "The Hartford Blues Part I" (PDF). Coffin Corner. Professional Football Researchers Association. 4 (8): 1–5. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 27, 2010.
