Claude Miller (1997) - Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame

Claude Miller

Induction:
1997
Class:
1949

Claude Miller went straight from Scott High School in Madison, W.Va., into the U.S. Army to serve in World War II in 1944, but eventually made his way to Marshall to play football for Cam Henderson two years later. Once here, Miller was a stalwart along the Marshall front line, as a guard on offense and a middle guard on defense, starting all but two games in his four seasons. Miller helped lead the way for the 1947 Marshall football team to a 9-2 regular season and invitation to play in the school’s first bowl game, a 7-0 setback to Catawba College in the New Year’s Day Tangerine Bowl. A team captain by the time he was a junior in 1948, Miller helped the 1949 team to a 4-0 record in Ohio Valley Conference competition, though the league awarded its championship to Evansville – which had gone 3-1-1 – because Marshall did not play the required five league games. After finishing his Marshall career, Miller became a high school coach at Marlinton and Matewan in West Virginia, South Point (Ohio) and Boyd County (Ky.) before settling in as a teacher and coach at Huntington High School for 27 years. Miller was inducted into the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997.