Notable people · Athlete · Football · Lawyer
Don Miller
Born in Defiance, Don 'Midnight' Miller was the halfback of Notre Dame's famous Four Horsemen backfield. Coach Knute Rockne called him the greatest open-field runner he ever coached.
At a glance
- Born
- 1902-03-29
- Died
- 1979-07-28
- Education
- University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN, 1922-1925
- Known as
- Athlete, Football, Lawyer
- Organizations
- Notre Dame, Ohio State
Life story
Don Miller was born March 29, 1902, in Defiance, into a football family: four older brothers had played at Notre Dame, including Harry 'Red' Miller, who captained the 1908 team. Another brother, Ray T. Miller, went into Cleveland-area politics.
At Notre Dame he played halfback from 1922 to 1924, part of the backfield that sportswriters named the Four Horsemen. He gained 1,933 yards on 283 carries and scored 22 touchdowns, and was an All-American in 1923 and 1924. The 1924 team won the national championship.
After a short pro stint in 1925 with the Providence Steamrollers and the Hartford Blues, he coached backs at Georgia Tech (1925 to 1928) and Ohio State (1929 to 1932), and coached a Louisville high school in 1934.
He later built a law practice in the Cleveland area. He went into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1970 and died in Cleveland on July 28, 1979.
Timeline
- 1902-03-29: Born (Defiance, OH) source
- 1922: Begins three seasons as Notre Dame halfback (South Bend, IN) source
- 1923: Named All-American source
- 1924: All-American again; Notre Dame wins national championship source
- 1925: Plays pro football for Providence and Hartford; begins coaching at Georgia Tech source
- 1929: Becomes backfield coach at Ohio State (Columbus, OH) source
- 1957: Appears on the TV show To Tell the Truth source
- 1970: Inducted into College Football Hall of Fame source
- 1979-07-28: Dies at age 77 (Cleveland, OH) source
What Don is known for
- One of Notre Dame's Four Horsemen; 1924 national champion
- All-American 1923 and 1924
- College Football Hall of Fame (1970)
- 283 rushes, 1,933 yards, 22 touchdowns at Notre Dame
Honors and things named for them
- College Football Hall of Fame (1970)
- All-American 1923, 1924
Family
- brother: Harry 'Red' Miller
- brother: Ray T. Miller
Ohio places
Where Don Miller was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Born: Defiance, Defiance County ZIP 43512 · Defiance · Defiance County
- Worked: Columbus, Franklin County ZIP 43210 · Columbus · Franklin County
- Worked: Cleveland, Cuyahoga County ZIP 44114 · Cleveland · Cuyahoga County
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
- Wikipedia: Don Miller (American football, born 1902) birth, Notre Dame statistics, coaching, law career, Hall of Fame, death in Cleveland