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| Profile | |
|---|---|
| Position | Tackle |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1906-01-26)January 26, 1906 Milwaukee,Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Died | December 17, 1954(1954-12-17) (aged 48) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | University of Notre Dame, B.A. 1929[1] |
Frederick C. Miller (January 26, 1906 – December 17, 1954) was acollege football player, anAll-Americantackle under head coachKnute Rockne at theUniversity of Notre Dame,[2][3][4] posthumously elected to theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 1985. He later served as an unpaid assistant coach for the Irish, flying in from Milwaukee several times a week.[4]
Born inMilwaukee,Wisconsin, Miller was the son of Carl A. Miller ofGermany,[1] and Clara Miller (no relation), a daughter ofMiller Brewing Company founderFrederick Miller, also a German immigrant.[5]
Succeeding his younger cousinHarry John (1919–1992), Miller became the president of the family brewing company in 1947 at age 41 and had a major role in bringingMajor League Baseball toWisconsin, moving theBraves fromBoston toMilwaukee in1953. He coaxedLou Perini into moving them into the newCounty Stadium and was made a director for the team.[6] The Braves later played in consecutiveWorld Series in1957 and1958, both against theNew York Yankees. Both series went the full seven games with Milwaukee winning the former and New York the latter.[7][8] Many close to Miller believe that if not for Miller's early death, that when Perini later sold the Braves in the early 1960s, Miller would've bought the team to keep them in Milwaukee.
The father of two sons and six daughters, Miller was killed in aplane crash at age 48 on December 17, 1954, while on the way to a hunting trip inPortage la Prairie, Manitoba.[9] The company plane, a converted twin-engineLockheed Ventura that was bound forWinnipeg’s airport on a Friday evening, had trouble with both engines and crashed shortly after takeoff fromMitchell Field in Milwaukee.[10][11] Also killed were his oldest son, 20-year-old Fred, Jr.,[12] and the two company pilots, Joseph and Paul Laird.[13][14] The Monday funeral for the Millers atGesu Church was attended by thousands.[15][16]