| Dr. Bill Miller | |
|---|---|
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| Birth name | William M. Miller |
| Born | (1927-06-05)June 5, 1927 Fremont, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | March 24, 1997(1997-03-24) (aged 69) Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Ohio State University |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Big Bill Miller Dr. Bill Miller Doctor "X" Mr. M The Crimson Knight |
| Billed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 290 lb (130 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Fremont, Ohio[1] |
| Debut | 1951 |
| Retired | 1976 |
William M. Miller[2] (June 5, 1927 – March 24, 1997) was an Americanprofessional wrestler. He was a one timeAmerican Wrestling Association world champion and also wrestled in theNational Wrestling Alliance, theWorld Wrestling Association and theWorld Wide Wrestling Federation.
Born on June 5, 1927, Miller was raised on the Twin Pines Farm inFremont.[3][4] He was a nine-letterman atOhio State University inwrestling,football andtrack; he was also a member of the OSU team that won the1950 Rose Bowl.[1][5] He was anall-american heavyweight wrestler, a two-time Big Ten heavyweight champion, and Conference MVP in his senior year.[3][5] Miller was also anAll-American shot-put and discus track star.[1][3] He was voted into the Ohio State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997 for both wrestling and track.[1]
After a stint in theU.S. Navy, Miller began to wrestle professionally in Columbus under promoter Al Haft.[4] He became aveterinarian while starting his wrestling career, hence, the "Dr." in his name.[3][1][4] On May 1, 1952, Miller defeated Don Eagle to win the Ohio version of the AWA title, until losing it on September 2 to Don Arnold.[3][4] He wrestled as "Mr. M" in theMinneapolis–Saint Paul area and held the AWA title for over seven months while engaging in afeud withVerne Gagne.[4] On August 21, 1962, Mr. M was unmasked by Gagne.[2] Under his own name, he wrestled in theDetroit area with The Sheik (Eddie Farhat) through the 60s. Miller also donned a mask as the Crimson Knight, until November 20, 1970, when he lost toDory Funk Jr. and was subsequently unmasked by him.[3][2] Near the end of his career, he worked for theWWA withDick the Bruiser in theIndianapolis area.[2] He was also a frequent challenger toBruno Sammartino for theWWWF World Championship in the mid-1960s, facing him in a one-hour bout and a 48 secondsquash loss.[4]
In the early 1960s, Bill teamed with both his storyline brother Big Ed Miller, and real life brother Danny Miller.[5][6] From August 1965 to February 1966, Bill and Danny held theWWWF United States Tag Team Championship, winning it fromGorilla Monsoon &Cowboy Bill Watts, but losing them toJohnny Valentine &Antonio Pugliese inMadison Square Garden.[4][1] He was also a part of a brutal feud againstRay Stevens for the San Francisco version of the United States title, leading to a death match between the two on June 21, 1969, at theCow Palace, where guest refereeRocky Marciano knocked out Miller, disappointed in his rule breaking tactics.[4]
After retiring from the ring in 1976,[1] he returned to his first love of veterinarian medicine and opened a practice in Ohio, performing autopsies on animals.[3][4]
On March 24, 1997, Miller died of aheart attack at the age of 69, after working out at a gym while leaving the building.[2][3] He was survived by his wife and six kids.[2]
,Internet Wrestling Database