Roger Miller

In the 1960s, country singer Roger Miller was at the top of his game, having recorded several hits that reached top 10 status on the country charts. He was probably best known for his hit, “King of the Road,” recorded in late 1964. Another musical Roger Miller gained attention in the 1980s and beyond as the guitarist for the cult indie-rock band Mission of Burma.

Our Roger Miller came along in between. This one wasn’t a famous honky-tonk star or an alternative rocker like his namesakes. Rather, he was a fireballing schoolboy star at Uniontown High School in southwestern Pennsylvania in the early 1970s. The big (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) right-hander had a solid high school career and showed promise in the minors. When he was barely out of his teens, he made two appearances in the major leagues with Milwaukee in 1974.

Unfortunately, that was all for Miller’s time at the top level. Three years later, he was out of pro baseball, the victim of arm problems like so many other pitching prospects. He also died accidentally, aged just 38.

Roger Wesley Miller was born on August 1, 1954, in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. This small city is roughly 35 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Its best-known big-leaguer is Bob Bailor, who was born three years before Miller.

Roger’s parents were Dewey Miller Jr., who worked as an auto mechanic in the nearby town of Mill Run, and Betty (Detrick) Miller. He was the oldest of three boys, later joined by brothers Kevin and Keith.1 When he was 14, he played for Indian Creek Valley (ICV) of the Connellsville Pony League. In ICV’s first league game that summer of 1969, Miller struck out 18 batters in a 7-1 win over Beneficial Finance.2

Roger pitched for three different teams during high school: Uniontown High School, a member of Section 15 of the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League; Mill Run in the Fay-West League; and the Uniontown American Legion squad.3 Connellsville High did not have a baseball program until 1971.

The Fay-West League followed the scholastic season, beginning in early May and running into mid-August. According to Connellsville’s Daily Courier, the league was “one of the district’s oldest independent baseball organizations.”4

Miller and his Mill Run team won their second straight Fay-West title in 1970. Miller went the distance in the finale of the league’s annual championship tournament, battling his way out of a jam in the seventh and final inning. The opponent, Trotter, had the bases loaded with one out, trailing 2-1, but Miller got the next two batters to pop out.5

In July 1971, Miller was named to play in the Western Pennsylvania regional semifinal American Legion all-star game on July 23. The players were selected by 23 major league scouts who had attended the Section 12 all-star game a week earlier. In that Section 12 game, Miller allowed no runs or hits in three innings while striking out two and walking one.6

Later that summer, Mill Run won its third straight Fay-West title as they defeated Brownsville, four games to one, even though Miller had mixed results in the series.7 In the third game, Miller tossed a no-hitter as Mill Run beat Brownsville, 4-0.8 Three days later, he took the mound once again and although he wasn’t sharp (12 hits, seven runs), he shut down a potential Brownsville rally in the final inning after loading the bases with nobody out. Miller struck out the next two batters and got the final out on a popup to shortstop to give Mill Run the 13-7 victory.9

The following year, Miller went on a strikeout spree during his senior year of scholastic and Legion ball. In a span of 39 days, he whiffed 19 batters in a 9-0 win over Laurel Highlands,10 14 against Charleroi in a 2-1 win,11 11 in a 1-0 loss to Brownsville,12 and 17 in a 2-1 four-hitter over Colonial. The last outing came in Fayette County American Legion Baseball League play.13 Ex-Pittsburgh Pirate manager Danny Murtaugh and two Pirates scouts attended the Charleroi contest.

A few days later, the Milwaukee Brewers selected Miller in the 15th round (342nd overall) in the 1972 Major League Baseball June amateur draft. He was signed by scout Brad Kohler, a Mid-Atlantic scouting supervisor. Kohler called Miller a “strong, hard-throwing pitcher, who we feel will someday be a winning pitcher for us. We feel that he can develop and have a good future in baseball.”14

Miller reported to Newark, New York in the Class A New York-Penn League. The 17-year-old had a tough first pro season in 1972, going 1-3 with an ERA of 5.49 over 41 innings in a dual role of starting and relieving. Though he struck out 43, he also walked 31.

The following season, he was bumped up to Danville, Illinois in the Class A Midwest League. He had a solid season, and in front of his parents and younger brothers, he tossed a three-hit shutout in early August for his sixth victory.15

Miller ended his second professional season with an 8-4 record and an ERA of 3.32. He had two complete games—and two saves in a split role. Notably, his control improved, as he walked just 4.1 batters per nine innings. His performance earned him another promotion, this time bypassing Double-A and reporting to Class AAA Sacramento in the Pacific Coast League.

Before the 1974 campaign, Miller married Joy Cunningham on March 3 in Deep Creek, Maryland.16

Later in March, as spring training was winding down, Sacramento Solons manager Bob Lemon was setting up his pitching staff. Although Miller was mostly a starter in high school, he had more relief appearances (24) than starts (14) in his first two professional seasons. Lemon said, “I’m counting on Don Stratton, Jerry O’Neill, and Roger Miller for long relief and Bill Castro and Carlos Velázquez as the short relievers.”17

Miller was used in relief in his first six games.18 Lemon moved him into a starting role, however, and after a slow start, Miller became one of the Solons’ best pitchers. In his first 10 starts, he scuffled along with a record of 2-2 and an ERA of 5.65.19 But then something clicked: Miller went on a run of nine complete games in 10 starts in a span of six weeks from late June through early August. He won seven against three losses with an ERA of 3.35.20 Two factors made Miller’s work even more impressive. First, the league average ERA for the season was 4.99. What’s more, the Solons played at Hughes Stadium—where the left field fence was a mere 232 feet from home plate.21 There was a 40-foot-high screen installed, which ran from the left field foul line to a point 100 feet away in left-center field. The screen was dubbed “Piccinini’s Porch,” after owner Bob Piccinini.22 Another section of screen was added early in the season that extended another 100 feet toward center field.23

When asked about the difficulties of pitching at Hughes, Miller said, “I feel pitching here requires complete concentration, and I guess that’s why I’ve done so well here.”24 Soon thereafter, Miller was named to the Pacific Coast League West All-Star team. He pitched two innings in an 8-1 loss to the East squad in mid-July at Tacoma, Washington.25

Miller was called up by Milwaukee in late August, but he didn’t join the team until early September in Boston.26 He made his major league debut at Fenway Park on Sunday, September 8, against the Red Sox in a day game. Miller entered with the Brewers trailing 6-4 in the bottom of the sixth. Mario Guerrero was on first base with two outs, but Tommy Harper popped out to catcher Darrell Porter for the third out.

He didn’t fare quite as well in the bottom of the seventh. After getting Juan Beniquez on a lineout to third, he plunked Bernie Carbo. Carl Yastrzemski popped up to first base and it looked like Miller might get out of the inning unscathed. But then Dwight Evans drove a ball over the Green Monster in left for a two-run homer. Rico Petrocelli grounded to third for the final out. Final line: 1 1/3 innings pitched, one hit, two runs allowed, and one home run.

The tall, well-built right-hander made his second appearance five days later, again against the Red Sox, but this time at Milwaukee’s County Stadium. Miller entered the game in the top of the 10th inning with the Brewers trailing 6-5 and Petrocelli on second base. Doug Griffin lined to right field for the first out. But then pinch-hitter Guerrero singled, taking second on a throw home. Bob Montgomery followed with another single, scoring both Petrocelli and Guerrero and giving Boston an 8-5 lead. Miller struck out Harper and Beniquez to end the inning. Reliever Roger Moret set the Brewers down in order in the bottom half of the 10th to seal the Red Sox victory.

Miller sat on the bullpen bench the rest of the year; he never threw another pitch in the big leagues. His totals: 2 1/3 innings, three hits, three runs, and two strikeouts. He did not have a decision and had an ERA of 11.57.

The following season, Miller once again was assigned to Sacramento. Once again, Hughes Stadium was the talk of the pitching staff in spring training. Miller chose to see it as a positive. “The nature of THAT place taught me to keep the ball down and my slider away. It made a better pitcher of me.”27

In late March, it was reported that Miller “[had] developed arm problems as the result of a deformed shoulder bone which first plagued him as a Little Leaguer.”28 However, it didn’t keep Miller off the mound—he took his regular turn in the rotation through the end of July.

His second start was a bit of a distraction for him, as wife Joy was in the hospital in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania giving birth to son Jeremy Ross Miller.29 The new father may have not earned a win on the mound, but he gained something more important: his first child.

On April 25 and May 1, Miller notched an impressive Pacific Coast League feat of two consecutive complete-game shutouts.30 Not much went right after that, though, as the tall right-hander suffered five straight losses. His ERA during this period was an ugly 11.62.31 He threw the ball well in June, with four complete games and four wins against two losses, but then reverted to “Mr. Hyde” in July, going 1-3 and never getting past the seventh inning.32 At the end of the month, Miller was sent to Los Angeles to have his inflamed elbow examined by Dr. Robert Kerlan.33 (One may assume that no surgical procedures took place at that time. No further report came out, and Miller had surgery the next year.)

Miller finished the 1975 season with a record of 7-12 and an ERA of 6.16. The next spring, he tossed a couple of innings, but arm problems led to another doctor’s visit which found a pinched nerve in his right arm. Nerve transplant surgery shelved him for the whole 1976 season.34 An earlier report had stated, “The 21-year-old right-hander faces surgery for removal of elbow bone chips.”35 (There was some discrepancy between the two accounts, but the bone chip surgery is more likely to be correct, as the story was written after the surgery.)

In the spring of 1977, Miller was reported to be “extremely healthy.”36 The Brewers made their cuts in spring training, and Miller was reassigned to the Spokane Indians (also in the PCL), who had become Milwaukee’s new Triple-A affiliate the prior year.37

Manager John Felske said that Miller would get spot starts and long relief duty “at least for the time being.”38 The first month of the season, that is exactly what happened: Miller came out of the bullpen four times and made two starts in April.39 His effort on the last day of April might have changed Felske’s mind. Miller threw a four-hit shutout in a 6-0 win over San Jose, earning his first victory of the young season.40

Excluding a relief appearance on May 8, his next eight outings were all starts. Unfortunately, he struggled badly, going 2-5 with an ERA of 8.54.41 Those poor showings prompted Felske to elevate Rich Folkers to the starting rotation and relegate Miller to the bullpen.42

The next seven outings were disastrous. Miller pitched only two and two-thirds innings in that span and allowed 10 earned runs, for an astronomical ERA of 33.83.43 In mid-July, he was placed on the disabled list.44

Miller came off the DL on July 23 and initially the rest did him good—he posted an ERA of 2.41 over 18 2/3 innings, winning three games in a span of 10 appearances. The last two weeks were a roller-coaster ride, with four starts and one relief effort.45 Miller’s penultimate appearance was perhaps the best of his season: He threw a two-hitter and allowed only one earned run in a 7-1 win over Tacoma. Felske said Miller “pitch(ed) a real fine game. He threw well.”46

Miller’s final 1977 stats were a record of 8-5 and an ERA of 5.75. He appeared in 38 games, including 15 starts.

After all his injuries and struggles, Miller retired before the 1978 season.47 He returned home to the Mill Run area to his wife Joy and son Jeremy, who was by then three years old. In 1980, daughter Jana was born.

Miller worked with the Connellsville High School and American Legion baseball teams, especially in the early ’90s, when Jeremy was a star shortstop.48

Disaster struck on April 26, 1993, when Miller was killed in a mine explosion at Commercial Stone Company. Miller, who was a welder, was working on a front-end loader when a leaking acetylene tank caused the explosion. He was found unconscious and was pronounced dead at the scene.49

Surviving Miller were his wife and children. He was laid to rest at Indian Creek Baptist Cemetery in Mill Run.50

Acknowledgments

The author would like to give special thanks to Eric Kane of the Carnegie Free Library in Connellsville, Pennsylvania for his gathering of further information in completing the Roger Miller biography.

This biography was reviewed by Rory Costello and Gary Livacari and fact-checked by James Forr.

Notes

1 “Miller Has 7-3 Record,” Daily Courier (Connellsville, Pennsylvania), August 17, 1973: 7.

2 “ICV Wins Pony Baseball Debut,” Daily Courier, May 28, 1969: 6.

3 “Miller Joins Brewer Farm,” Daily Courier, June 12, 1972: 6.

4 “Fay-West League Opens Sunday with Two Games,” Daily Courier, May 2, 1970: 7.

5 “Miller Pitches Out of Last Inning Jam, Bryner Homers in 2-1 Win Over Trotter,” Daily Courier, August 15, 1970: 6.

6 “Five County Players in Legion Semi-Finals,” Daily Courier, July 17, 1971: 6.

7 “Mill Run Completes First Fay-West ‘Slam,’” Daily Courier, August 17, 1971: 6.

8 “Mill Run Leads Playoff on Miller’s 0-Hitter,” Daily Courier, August 13, 1971: 9.

9 “Mill Run Completes First Fay-West ‘Slam.’”

10 “Miller Fans 19 in Raider Win,” Daily Courier, April 29, 1972: 7.

11 “Miller Has Busy Day for Raiders,” Daily Courier, May 4, 1972: 9.

12 “Uniontown Edged,” Daily Courier, May 9, 1972: 6.

13 “Miller Fans 17 in Uniontown Win,” Daily Courier, June 6, 1972: 7.

14 “Brewers Sign Roger Miller,” Daily Courier, June 10, 1972: 6.

15 “Miller Has 7-3 Record.”

16 “Mill Run Couple Marry,” Daily Courier, March 16, 1974: 5.

17 “Solons Rip Wichita 8-3–12th Win in 16 Tilts,” Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), April 8, 1974: C6.

18 Author’s compilation from boxscores, Sacramento Bee, April 1974.

19 Compilation from boxscores, Sacramento Bee, May-June 1974.

20 Compilation from boxscores, Sacramento Bee, June-August 1974.

21 Depending on who you listened to, the distance to the fence could also have been 233 feet or 235 feet.

22 Bob Kohn, “Carbray Backs Homer Heaven as Solons’ Site,” Sacramento Bee, April 24, 1974: E1.

23 Bob Kohn, “Hughes Now Has HR Barrier,” Sacramento Bee, May 1, 1974: 37.

24 Sacramento Solons player bio, Sacramento Bee, July 10, 1974 (Special Solons advertising section): 8.

25 “East Wallops West in PCL All-Star Tilt,” Sacramento Bee, July 17, 1974: H1.

26 “Roger Miller Is Recalled by Milwaukee,” Daily Courier, August 30, 1974: 6.

27 Herb Michelson, “Hurlers: No! No! Not THAT Stadium,” Sacramento Bee, March 12, 1975: H1, H4.

28 “Solons Wait as Brewers Seek Lefty,” Sacramento Bee, March 20, 1975: E1.

29 Bob Kohn, “Stork, Miller Deliver but Twins Prove Too Much,” Sacramento Bee, April 16, 1975: H1.

30 Ben Swesey, “Miller’s Third Shutout Snaps Islander Streak,” Sacramento Bee, May 2, 1975: D1. (The article title refers to Miller getting skunked on area lakes while fishing.)

31 Compilation from boxscores, Sacramento Bee, May 1975.

32 Compilation from boxscores, Sacramento Bee, June-July 1975.

33 Ben Swesey, “Solons Get Clipped By ‘Foul Ball,’” Sacramento Bee, July 30, 1975: C2.

34 “Baseball ‘Holiday,’” Daily Courier, April 24, 1976: 6. (This was not a story, but a caption from a picture of Miller.)

35 “Howard sets Indians’ lineup,” Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington), April 13, 1976: 15.

36 “Brewers Send Four to Indians,” Daily Chronicle (Spokane, Washington), March 29, 1977: 19.

37 “Brewers Send Four to Indians.”

38 “Six Returnees in Lineup,” Daily Chronicle, April 12, 1977: 21.

39 Compilation from boxscores, Spokesman-Review and Daily Chronicle, April 1977.

40 Dick Schomburg, “Spokane pitches, hits, sweeps,” Spokesman-Review, May 1, 1977: D1.

41 Compilation from boxscores, Spokesman-Review and Daily Chronicle, May-June 1977.

42 Chuck Stewart, “Gulls Post 15-4 Rout,” Daily Chronicle, June 21, 1977: 17.

43 Compilation from boxscores, Spokesman-Review and Daily Chronicle, June-July 1977.

44 Merle Derrick, “Pitching Keys Tribe 6-Game Streak,” Daily Chronicle, July 11, 1977: 17.

45 Compilation from boxscores, Spokesman-Review and Daily Chronicle, July-September 1977.

46 “Frustration Hits Spokane Indians,” Daily Chronicle, September 2, 1977: 21.

47 “Faltering Tribe .333; Phoenix Series Next,” Daily Chronicle, April 29, 1978: 10.

48 Gary Silvers, “Miller left everlasting impression,” Herald-Standard (Uniontown, Pennsylvania), April 29, 1993.

49 Mark Whitehouse, “Local baseball star killed in blast,” Daily Courier, April 27, 1993: 1.

50 Miller obituary, Daily Courier, April 27, 1993: 1.